Homefront Adventures
by SonicFanaticInc
Summary: After their most recent adventure, Sonic and the gang are finally getting some well earned vacation time. But peace doesn't last in their neck of the woods for long. A new arrival is going to change their lives forever as it presents new challenges and adventures right in their own backyard.
1. New Arrival

**Chapter 1  
**

It was a beautiful night on Mobius. The stars shone bright in the night sky as smoke from a campfire swirled into the heavens. The campfire was in a sandy clearing surrounded by trees. Sitting around the fire was Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails the Fox, and Knuckles the Echidna. "Ahh, now isn't this great? Nothing but the great outdoors and us guys! Aren't you glad you're here instead of sitting up in those musty old ruins, Knux?" said Sonic as he settled into a cozy position.

"First of all, Sonic, call me that again and I'm going to rearrange your face. Second of all, I _like _to sit up in those 'musty old ruins'. However, so far, this camping trip has turned out to be kinda fun. By the way, thank you Tails for installing that high-tech security system to protect the Master Emerald while I'm away." replied Knuckles with an angry glare at Sonic.

"No problem!" said Tails with a smile, "Now you can take some vacation time now and then."

"Yeah and work on your anger management skills while you're at it! Ha Ha Ha!" chuckled Sonic as he bit into a fresh chili-dog. Knuckles' eye began to twitch as he resisted the urge to shove the chili-dog down Sonic's throat.

"Ahem! Why don't we tell scary stories or something?" suggested Knuckles.

"I have one." said Tails eagerly.

"Fine by me.", said Sonic as he grabbed another chili-dog, "Just don't make it too scary Tails. We don't want Knuckles to wet him-self." Sonic snickered as he took a bite of his chili-dog.

A vein pulsed in Knuckles' forehead as he growled through gritted teeth, "Just tell the darn story."

* * *

Tails cleared his throat and began his tale in a low voice, "This story is about a horrifying creature that roams these very woods." Sonic and Knuckles leaned in to hear. "It travels swiftly and silently through the treetops. When it spots prey, it leaps from the branches with a screech!" At that moment Sonic and Knuckles both jumped. While the two calmed down, they glared at Tails who was rolling on the ground laughing.

Frowning, Knuckles shouted, "Tails, that wasn't funny!"

Tails sat up, still laughing, and said, "You guys should have seen your faces!"

Sonic crossed his arms with a rasied eyebrow, "Well, I'll admit it, you got us good Tails."

"I learned from the best." chuckled Tails as he scratched his ear.

"Grrrr... Whatever, I wasn't scared." said Knuckles as he turned his flushed muzzle away.

Sonic scoffed and said, "HA! Come off it Knux! We all know you were scared!"

Knuckles shouted, "So help me Sonic if you call me that one more time, I'm gonna-" At that moment there was a loud snap at the other end of the clearing. A high-pitched scream sounded and was quickly followed by a thud. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles stood looking at where the thud had been. They looked at each other and began to slowly go to the spot.

* * *

There was a pile of branches concealing something. Looking up they could see several broken limbs in the tree. "What is it?" asked Knuckles.

"I don't know. Its covered with the branches" replied Tails. Sonic carefully lifted one of the branches with his shoe revealing the face of a raccoon. The three let out a gasp and immediately moved the rest. The raccoon was a female. She had large black tipped ears and her pretty face bore the trademark of her species, as did her long plush tail. She had blue-gray fur and long red hair that was swept back into a ponytail with long bangs covering her forehead and the tops of her eyes.

The female had on a light green v-cut sleeveless shirt with dark green trim. Her lower half donned a matching mini-skirt and underneath, skintight blue jeans that stopped above her knees. On her feet were light green boots with dark green bottoms that stopped just under her knees. In addition, around her neck, she had a crystal locket hanging by a silver chain.

* * *

Sonic knelt next to her, "Hey, are you OK?"

"She must be unconscious from her fall." said Tails. The female began to come to.

Seeing unfamiliar faces all around her, the female jumped up and said, "Who are you?"

"Whoa, cool your jets." said Sonic recognizing the fear in the female's wide, almost childish, teal eyes, "My name is Sonic the Hedgehog. These are my friends"

"Tails the Fox, nice to meet you."

"Knuckles the Echidna."

The female now seemed to relax a bit. "I'm Mikysara."

"A pleasure." said Sonic, "Are you from around here?"

"Depends where 'here' is. I'm completely lost and I'm not exactly sure how I got here." said Mikysara looking around.

"Well it sounds like you have quite a story to tell. Let's all have a seat." said Tails gesturing to the logs that were positioned around the campfire.

"That's the thing." said Mikysara after they had settled in, "If there is a story behind how I got here, I certainly don't remember it."

"WHAT?!" the guys said at once.

"What do you mean you can't remember?" asked Knuckles.

"I just don't. The only thing I can remember is my name. That and the last 30 minutes since I woke up." said Mikysara with a shrug.

"Wait that was _5_ minutes ago." said Tails looking at his wrist device.

"No it was longer than that."

"Alright I think we need to take a step back. Mikysara, tell us the earliest thing you can remember." said Sonic.

* * *

"I remember waking up in the middle of this forest. My head really hurt and I didn't know where I was. So I climbed a tree to try and get my bearings, but nothing looked familiar. As I came back down I heard voices so I traveled by the tree branches to the edge of this clearing. I was leaning in listening to your story, Tails, and honestly, it made me really nervous. So when an owl hooted somewhere behind me, it scared me, and I ended up accidentally falling out of the tree. Next thing I know, I'm surrounded by unfamiliar voices and faces. That's why I reacted the way I did."

* * *

"So that's it?" inquired Knuckles.

"Yep. I've tried remembering earlier than that but there's nothing there. It's just blackness." replied Mikysara.

"So that's all you can remember? Your name and waking up in a strange place with a headache?" asked Knuckles.

Mikysara nodded. Tails turned to Sonic and whispered, "Does Mikysara remind you of anybody in particular, Sonic?"

Sonic gave the slightest off nods and whispered back, "Do you think they have some sort of connection?"

"It's a possibility, but who knows?"

"Hmm..." Sonic turned to Mikysara and said in a normal tone, "Why don't you stay with us a bit until you can sort this mess out and get your memory back?"

Mikysara looked surprised, "Really? You would just in invite me in and you don't even know me? Heck, _I_ don't even know me!"

"Sure, why not? You seem like a nice person to me." said Sonic with a wink and a thumbs-up.

Mikysara blushed slightly at the compliment, "Thanks". For the rest of the night the four told scary stories, talked, laughed, and all together had a great time. With her bubbly, and excitable personality, Mikysara clicked perfectly into the group. She felt that while she tried to remember her past, her present would be something she shan't soon forget...

* * *

**Author's Note: This is my unofficial continuation of the Sonic Timeline. Its supposed to take place after Sonic and co.'s most recent escapade but since they continue to put out new games, it makes it a little hard to pinpoint when exactly. But I can tell you this, it is most certainly after Season 3 of Sonic X (I count Seasons 1 & 2 as Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, which is what they are lol). Oh hell, for all intents and purposes, lets just say its after Sonic Gen. Till they put out another game that is. Anyways I hope you like it. Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy! :D**


	2. Forgotten Talent

**Chapter 2**

It was an absolutely beautiful morning in the Emerald Forest. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and their new friend Mikysara woke up to the cheerful chirping of birds. They cleaned up the campsite and started out of the clearing.

"I'm very grateful for your offer to let me stay with you guys until my memory recovers, but, I don't how long that will take. I wouldn't want to be a burden." said Mikysara as they walked along.

"Hmm… We could rotate. First you can stay at my house for a bit, then Sonic's, then Knuckles. That way we can teach you different stuff about the area. That should make your stay a little easier." suggested Tails.

"That sounds great! I can't wait to learn anything and everything!" said Mikysara with a huge grin.

As they were walking, a breeze began to wind through the trees. "So guys-" Mikysara was interrupted by a rumble of thunder that quickly escalated into an explosion. The wind kicked up and began to howl as dark clouds swirled in the sky. Lightining tore at the sky like a vicious animal as another roar of thunder rang out.

"Where the hell did this storm come from?!" shouted Knuckles over the wind.

"I don't know! But we need to find shelter! We can go to my house! It's the closest!" yelled Tails.

"Uh guys? We may have a bit of a situation!" exclaimed Sonic. Sonic was franticly dodging a hailstorm of lightning bolts that seemed set on frying him.

* * *

The bolts were striking everywhere as Tails and Knuckles dove for cover. Mikysara was about to follow suit when suddenly she noticed that her locket was glowing bright yellow. Looking up, Mikysara gasped as she spotted a lightning bolt shoot towards Sonic as he was dodging a different bolt. _He doesn't see it! Someone has to warn him!_ Mikysara shouted, "Sonic! Look out!" with her arm outstretched and pointing. Sonic turned around to see the lightning bolt inches from his face. Knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge, Sonic braced himself for the blow.

However, it never came. The bolt had come to a standstill a mere hairbreadth from Sonic's nose. A yellowish aura surrounded the bolt and weaved through the air from Mikysara's hand. The locket around Mikysara's neck pulsated with the same yellow aura. Mikysara was dumbfounded that she had somehow stopped a lightning bolt with a simple gesture. Suddenly she felt lightheaded as if all of her strength was being used up and things were beginning to fade to black. Mikysara collapsed and the lightning bolt flew and struck a tree. Everyone immediately gathered around. "Mikysara! Are you alright?" said Sonic as he knelt beside her.

* * *

Mikysara began to come to, "Ugh. What happened?"

Tails replied, "Something quite interesting. But we can talk about that later! Right now we need to get to my house!" Out of a nowhere, a large creak sounded as a gust of wind slammed the tree that had been hit with the lightning bolt with amazing force. The tree gave, as a thunderous crack sounded and splinters were sprayed in every direction. The tree cast a shadow that doomed everything beneath it as it toppled towards the four friends.

"Run!" yelled Sonic as they scrambled out of the way. Mikysara struggled to her feet but drained of their energy, her leg muscles refused to function and she fell. She let out a frightened cry as the tree beared down on her. Realizing what had transpired Sonic and Knuckles dashed back to the tree. Knuckles snagged the tree and lifted it just high enough for Sonic to slide under and grab Mikysara. Once the two were clear, he let the tree slam the ground.

"I think I pulled a muscle from grabbing the tree like that. You two alrite?" asked Knuckles as he rolled his shoulders.

"I'm fine." responded Sonic. He looked at Mikysara, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Im sorry, I don't know what happened."

"Its ok. But until we get some where safe, I think its best if I carry you." said Sonic with a kind smile.

"Ok guys lets get out of here." said Tails as the clouds began to pour rain.

* * *

They ran through the forest as the rain came down in sheets, reaching Tails' house without anymore problems. They all crowded onto the porch and out of the rain while Tails undid his various locks.

Sonic put Mikysara down, "Think you can walk now?"

"Yeah. Thanks a ton for -whoa!" Mikysara slipped on a wet part of the porch and began to fall backwards towards the muddy ground.

"Whoops!" said Sonic as he caught Mikysara by the arm, "That would have been a nasty fall." He pulled Mikysara back onto the porch and out of the rain.

She smiled, "Thanks. I guess one of the things I forgot about myself is that I'm really clumsy!" Sonic laughed as Tails unlocked the door.

"Jeez Tails, don't you think you have one too many locks on your door? We could have been inside like twenty minutes ago." complained Knuckles as they stepped inside.

"Why _do_ you have so many locks Tails?" asked Mikysara as she rung out her dripping tail.

"Its to protect my inventions." replied Tails as he gave his tails a quick spin.

As he flipped quills toward the ground and quickly whipped them back up to shake off the water, Sonic said teasingly, "And because hes really paranoid.".

* * *

Once everyone was dried off, they sat down in Tails' large living room. A few bean bag chairs sat around the room and in the middle was a couch. On the far wall was an entertainment center with a TV, DVD player, and a couple of video game consles. "Ok. We know for a fact that something funny is going on here. Storms like the one outside don't just materalize out of nowhere." began Tails as he sat down on one of his bean bag chairs.

"Yeah. I'm no meteorologist but that storm had the strength of something out of a si-fi movie." agreed Sonic as he leaned against the wall.

"Guys, it on the tips of our tounges so I'm going to just say it. 5 bucks says that Eggman is behind this." said Knuckles.

"Whos Eggman?"asked Mikysara.

"Eggman is our nemises. Hes really fat with a big mustashe and when things go wrong around here, hes usually behind it." explained Tails.

"That guy is bad news. Hes shady and is definitly _not_ to be trusted." added Knuckles.

"Eggman has a pretty nasty collection of tricks, and robots, up his sleeve. Knux here has found that out the hard way, 3 times." put in Sonic.

Knuckles frowned at Sonic, "First of all, don't call me Knux and second of all, you're not gonna let me forget that are you?"

"Not a chance buddy." replied Sonic with a wink.

"Grrr…"

"Anyways, you think this Eggman guy could be behind the storm?" asked Mikysara.

"That would be the only explaination. Oh, and speaking of explainations, I think I've figured out what happened earlier in the forest." said Tails.

* * *

"I was just about to bring that up. So whats the scoop?" said Knuckles.

"Mikysara, I don't know if you knew it, but I do believe that what you did with the lightining bolt was a brillant demonstration of an uniquie ability know as telekinesis. Telekniesis is the act of moving and/or manipulating objects with your mind." said Tails.

"Whoa wait a minute. So if Mikysara has telekniesis, doesn't that mean shes psycic?" asked Knuckles.

"Huh. I guess it does."said Tails

"Wow, that's something else I must have forgotten about myself…" said Mikysara. She than thought, _I wish I could remember a least one thing about this locket around my neck. I get the feeling its important._

"What do you think Mikysara?" asked Sonic.

"Huh?" said Mikysara as she looked up from her locket.

"We're trying to figure out what Eggman could gain from creating a monster storm and I asked you what you think."

"Oh. Ummm… I don't know what a bad guy would get out of making a storm."

"Instead of sitting around and trying to guess what Eggman is up to, why don't we take the X-Tornado into the storm and find out?" suggested Knuckles.

Tails shook his head and replied, "That would be the easy solution but, the storm makes it far too dangerous to fly."

"Is the X-Tornado a plane?" asked Mikysara.

"Yep my pride and joy. I bulit her from sctrach.", said Tails with a smile, "She can fly at over 100 mph and has a buit in ring-flinger. Shes packing heat seeking C-4 missiles, a fully automatic machine gun with armor piercing rounds, and a supersonic EMP laser blast that's guaranteed to down any aircraft. And that's just the tip of the ice berg of things my baby can do.", Tails gave a sigh; "I love that plane."

* * *

"It sounds like it would be useful in fighting Eggman." pointed out Mikysara.

"It is. The X-Tornado has helped us win against Eggman more times than we can count." said Sonic.

"Well what if Eggman has a plan but in order for it to work, he has to make sure the X-Tornado won't get in the way. So he made something that can make it too dangerous to fly. With one machine he eliminated your best weapon and transportation."

"That just might be it! It makes perfect sense!" said Tails

"Nice one Miky." said Sonic with a thumbs-up.

Mikysara said, "Miky?"

Sonic scratched his ear in embarrassment, "Sorry, I tend to nickname people."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whether they want to be nicknamed or not."

"It's ok. Mikysara is a bit of a pain to say. Miky has a nice ring to it. I like it." replied Miky as she grinned.

Sonic gave a little laugh, "Well ok. Now we just need to figure out Eggman's main plan and we're golden."

After a moment of thought Tails said, "Hmmm well if Eggman has created a weather machine to aid him in his plot, then we should destroy that first. But the problem is that more likely than not, the weather machine is in the sky. How are we going to get high enough to even try looking for it?"

Knuckles jumped up, "We can go to Angel Island! We climb Red Mountain, cross the bridge, and look from Angel Island. Then, when we find the thing, we smash it!"

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" said Miky.

* * *

"Whoa, hold up. Miky, I think it would be best if you stayed here. It's too dangerous." said Sonic.

"Too dangerous? The guy's name is Eggman! How dangerous can it be?"

"Very dangerous! Unless you just remembered that you're a top-notch fighter, it's too risky to bring you along."

"Sonics right Miky. Our battles with Eggman get pretty rough." cut in Tails.

"Yeah no offense, but we need to be able to do our thing without having to worry about you getting hurt." agreed Knuckles.

"We'll be back before you know it. Come on guys, let's go scramble us some Eggman!" said Sonic as they left. Miky gave a dejected sigh and plopped down on one of the bean bag chairs. Then she had an idea…

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh boy, what is she up to? I'll guess we'll have to wait and find out! Although the way I keep posting, that won't be very long lol. XD Also, I've been thinking about what the cover of this story should be. I'm torn between a group shot with the main characters of the story and a map of the "Homefront" where the adventures take place. Let me know what you think in a review or PM if you can spare the time. Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy.**


	3. First Adventure

**Chapter 3**

**Author's Note: Just a quick little note, sometimes in this story an event will be told from one character's POV like a retelling or journal entry. Or, it will revolve around one character's thought and feelings. It won't happen super often, just when I think it could enhance that particular event. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Hello, my name is Mikysara. You can call me Miky for short. I've been with Sonic and his friends for quite some time now and we've had all sorts of crazy adventures! But, the one adventure that I'll never forget is my very first. It happened the very next day after I met Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.

* * *

The three of them had taken off from Tails' house to take out the cause behind the crazy weather. They planned to go up to Angel Island and use it as a search platform. At the time I wasn't really a fighter. I had just barley discovered my telekinesis and not to mention I didn't even know what I was up against. Nevertheless, I was headstrong, naïve, and determined to prove myself. So when the guys left, I followed them through the winding paths of the Emerald Forest and up the craggy face of Red Mountain. While the rain had stopped, powerful winds were whipping the area.

I quickly discovered that the treetops were my friend as I was able to move swiftly and silently from branch to branch. However, I had a little more trouble keeping up and staying quiet at the same time when we started to get to the rougher parts of Red Mountain. Just as we were reaching a plateau of sorts near the summit, I slipped and sent a shower of pebbles and dust sliding down the mountain path. Of course this also alerted Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to my presence.

"Miky? What are you doing here?! We told you to wait for us at Tails' house!" Sonic had shouted. He was not pleased to see me at all.

* * *

I put my hands on my hips and replied, "Well what did you expect me to do? I wasn't about to just sit there and twiddle my thumbs! I want to help!"

Knuckles scoffed, "Help? Sorry Miky, but you have no idea what Eggman is capable of."

With a toss of my head that made my ponytail bounce I remarked, "Yeah, yeah, you already told me about him. Besides, you guys only _think_ its Eggman. What if it's not?"

Knuckles replied, "Ten to one, it's gonna be him. And it would be too much for you. When we finish this mission me and Sonic can show you how to fight but right now you need to stay out of the way. Go back to Tails' house and wait for us."

At this I looked at my shoes sheepishly and said, "Um… I don't know how to get back."

Tails sighed, "Of course. Go on without me guys, I'll catch up. Let's go Miky."

In the embarrassingly childish manner I had back then, I stomped my foot and practically yelled, "No! I want to help! I don't care how dangerous it is, I want to help!" At this point, Knuckles looked like his head was about to explode.

He had opened his mouth to shout something back, but Sonic cut him off, "Calm down Knuckles. Besides, one of us can't take her back because it would cost too much time."

Knuckles had given both me and Sonic angry glares before continuing to climb up the mountain, "Whatever. Just as long as she doesn't get in the way."

I jumped up in the air and said excitedly, "Yes! Don't worry; I'll be anything but in the way!"

* * *

After a small climb, we reached the plateau near the summit. A section jutted away from the side of the mountain. Attached to this was a long bridge made of rope and wood planks. Clinging to it were long strands of moss, giving it an ancient look. We crossed it single file for it wasn't very wide. As we did so, I remember looking down and seeing the land just endlessly stretched out around me. It was so beautiful and breath taking. I had said, "Wow! Look at that! Hey, is that… an island floating in the sky?!"

Sonic, who was in front of me, looked back and said, "Yeah, that's Angel Island. Pretty cool huh?"

I just stood there with my mouth open, "I'll say!

Knuckles then growled, "Remember that we're here on a mission, not to sight-see. Stay on your guard." At that exact moment, almost as if proving Knuckles' point, a huge gust of wind made the little bridge swing violently side to side. The bridge was starting to swing more. The arc of the swing became wider until without warning the whole thing flipped over. We all screamed as we clung to the rope rails, dangling thousands of feet above the ground.

Sonic had shouted, "Tails! Can you fly us to Angel Island?"

Tails let go of the rope and started twirling his tails, "Yeah but with this wind, I'll have to do it one at a time."

I remember being so surprised in learning about Tails' special trick, "Whoa! You can fly Tails?"

He had replied, "Yeah. Call it a gift. Ok, who should I ferry first?"

Sonic pointed at me, "Take Miky first." Tails flew over to me and held out his hands. I reached and grabbed one which he gripped tightly.

"I got you. Let go of the rope." Tails said. I couldn't help but look down. The astronomical heights had seemed beautiful but now, they were dizzying and paralyzing. I looked up at Tails. I must have looked pretty scared cause he said in a calm voice, "Its ok Miky, I got you. Just let go of the rope." I started to look down again when Tails said, "Nonono. Don't look down. Just look at me. Look at me and let go of the rope." Reluctantly, I let go and for a minute it appeared we were going to fall but Tails kept us in the air.

Just as he was reaching for my other hand, a gust of wind blew and sent Tails spiraling. My hand slipped, and I began to plunge, screaming. Tails dove for me but another gust of wind blew him a few feet away. But suddenly I felt two hands grab mine and I bounced as my free-fall was interrupted.

I looked up to see Sonic hanging upside down by his knees, "Now's not exactly a good time for skydiving. You ok?"

I managed to squeak, "Yeah."

* * *

Tails had recovered now and flew back to us, "I'm so sorry Miky! I didn't mean to drop you!"

My voice still a little squeaky I replied, "Its ok. We should go now, before the wind comes back."

Knuckles nodded, "Couldn't agree more. But I think have a better plan than each of us getting flown over. Tails, if we started to swing the bridge, do you think you could flip it back over?"

Tails thought for a moment before saying, "That would work! Start swinging!" Obeying, the three of us still hanging swung as hard as we could. When it had reached the highest it would go, Tails grabbed the rope railing and pulled, flipping the bridge right side up. Wasting no time, we ran to the other side.

Once we were safely on Angel Island, We began to look into the big angry storm clouds gathering in the sky. Without warning, a large robot burst out of nowhere!

* * *

The contraption was a massive, bird robot colored red, black, and yellow with dark red wings. Its sharp beak and talons looked like they could tear through a Mobian like a hot knife through butter! With a terrible metallic screech, it lunged at us.

Sonic yelled, "Duck!" We hit the ground and it swooped over us. Sonic and Knuckles then jumped up and launched themselves at it. Sonic was moving so fast, he had become a blue blur pelting the robot's surface while Knuckles swung punches so hard that it sent shockwaves through the metal. But with one flap of its huge wings, the robot knocked both of them back onto the ground.

While they recovered, Tails pulled out a small blaster ray and took to the air. The robot tried to lash at him with its talons as Tails fired at it. However, it was faster than Tails and as a result; he was having a hard time dodging.

Wanting to be of use, I picked up a large stone and hurled it as hard as I could at the robot, "Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" The stone hit the bird-like robot square in the head and made a good sized dent. The thing flew at me with a screech. I ducked, but its talon hooked the scrunchie I use in my ponytail. All at once, the ground began to rapidly become farther and farther away.

* * *

**Author's Note: Uh oh! Looks like Miky got more than she bargained for! Well, the guys did try and warn her. I hope the change in perspective doesn't throw the story off and ruin it. Please read, review, and enjoy.**


	4. First Adventure Part 2

**Chapter 4**

I struggled against the robot as it went higher. The wind began to howl around it and rain began to pour down. Without warning, the bird-like robot dove at the ground and began to spin, forcing the wind and rain into a swirling funnel. The ground was rushing up to meet me as the hurricane column lashed at me. My struggles increased in intensity as the ground got closer.

With one final jerk of my head, the scrunchie tore in half and the wind flung me upwards where the current quickly sent me downwards once more, causing me to land on the back of the robot. The current was so strong I could barely stand up. The robot was showed signs of trying to pull up when I had an idea.

I placed both hands on the metal and concentrated every ounce of energy I had. Slowly, I could feel my telekinesis turning it straight downwards in an inescapable nosedive. A few seconds later, the thing plowed beak first into the ground, sending me skyward.

Sonic jumped up and caught me midair and landed lightly on his feet, "Gotcha! Are you hurt?" Barely awake, I managed to shake my head.

Tails cried, "Sonic! It's getting back up!"

* * *

Sonic frowned and set me on feet to lean against Knuckles, "Well then, it's time that thing had a taste of its own medicine!" There was a thunderous boom and Sonic, who could only be seen as a streak, was running furiously in a circle. Dust, dirt, grass, and small rocks began to swirl in a blue vortex. The vortex got wider and taller until it was as big as the robot!

Sonic than crouched down and began to rev up in what I know now is a Spin Dash. He took off, riding the vortex up, gaining speed and momentum. Sonic flew out of the top, punching through the bird's head with astounding force! Seconds later, the whole robot exploded in a massive fireball leaving a pile of sparking scrap! I had recovered my senses a little by now as Knuckles and Tails whooped and cheered.

* * *

Sonic came back over to us with a huge grin on his face, "That's the end of that!"

Tails said "Hold up a second guys. I want to get a closer look. Something tells me that this wasn't an attack by Eggman."

Knuckles scratched his head, "Really? It had all of his colors and I'm pretty sure I saw his little logo on it too."

Tails had replied as he began to root through the pile of destroyed machinery, "Yes but it just doesn't match his usual building style. Plus, Eggman is always around to gloat when he attacks." Tails suddenly gasped and held up a large chip of sorts.

I was never very techy like he is, but I knew that whatever it was, it was really jacked up looking! But I guess it was really important cause he then said, "Is this… a model JK-86 perfunctory transistor?!"

Sonic tapped his foot impatiently, "English little bro, English."

Tails groaned with even more impatience, "Ugh! It's a long distance radio control chip! All of Eggman's robots have them but all of them are medium or short range, that's why he's always around them! But this why too high-tech even for him, heck, even _I _don't have this kinda stuff!"

Here I had suggested, "Maybe he got one from somewhere?"

Tails features had been creased in a thoughtful frown, "Maybe but…"

Knuckles clapped him on the back, "Who cares? We trashed the thing and that's that! Although, I have to say Miky, you were pretty good out there for a first-timer with no training. I didn't think you had it in ya!"

Sonic gave me a thumbs-up, "Yeah! What you did took some serious guts!"

At this I laughed nervously, "Oh whatever! I was just trying to be useful."

Sonic replied, "Well, I would say 'Mission Accomplished' then! Oh yeah, here's your scrunchie. Or what's left of it. It got sucked up in the vortex I made."

As I took it, Knuckles snickered, "Good, it looks like she could use one."

I was pretty mad at Knuckles for that, but I'll admit, I looked pretty funny with my hair going in every direction. But it wasn't my fault! It was the wind! Anyways, after I used the scrunchie , which was no longer a loop and just a long piece of fluffy green, to tie my hair back into a ponytail, we all kicked back on Angel Island.

* * *

The sun began to go down and it was time go home. At that point, I was going to stay with Tails for a little bit. Knuckles lived on Angel Island so me, Sonic, and Tails said goodbye and began to walk back to the bridge.

I remember that as we were starting to go back down Red Mountain I asked, "So what are we going to do tomorrow?" Sonic and Tails had looked at each other and burst out laughing. Sonic than replied, "Nobody knows. We just have to wait and see."

Once we reached the bottom of the mountain, the path forked. One way wound into the Emerald Forest while the other lead to a hilly, meadow like area. Sonic stretched his legs and said, "Well this is where I gotta jet. See ya later!" With that, Sonic blasted down the path toward the hills. Tails and I went into the Emerald Forest and followed the path to his house. He took me to the guest bedroom and wished me good night.

That was pretty much it for my first big adventure. It will always be my favorite and its one of my most treasured memories. But while I like to look back at the past, I love moving ahead into the future even more.

* * *

**Author's Note: Huzzah! Never underestimate Miky! Once she puts her mind to something, she goes for it! Although, her powers are going to have to get stronger if she wants to be of more use. But all in good time. On to the next adventure! Please read, review, and enjoy!**


	5. Settling In

**Chapter 5**

Miky was adjusting quite well to life with Sonic and co. It had been 3 weeks since she had met them and she was currently staying in Tails' house. During her stay, Tails was instructing her on the Emerald Forest, the hazards that could be found there, and everything around it. Together, they were pouring over a map of the Emerald Forest as Tails said, "Ok. Let's see how much you've learned so far."

Miky grinned, "All right! I'm ready!"

Tails smiled, "Good to see your confident! Now this area right here, what is it?" Tails pointed to a slight break in the trees on the map.

Miky looked and answered, "That's White Lilly Pond. Good place for a swim."

Tails asked, "How about here?"

Miky quickly replied, "That's the sandy clearing where I first met you guys. Sonic says he's gonna take me there to do some basic combat training when I stay with him."

Tails nodded, "Good. Now, this is just a map of the Emerald Forest. But what's North, South, West, and East of the Forest?"

Miky thought for a moment before answering, "In the North is Red Mountain. It's part of the mountain range that cuts the continent in half. Directly behind the range is the Mystic Jungle. Above it floats Angel Island. No one really goes past that. In the South, there's just a lot of craggy, small mountains and caves and then it just drops into the sea. The Green Hill Zone and miles of meadows and grassland lies in the West and the coast line is in the East."

Tails held up his hand for a high-five, "Great job! I guess there's little more I can teach you."

Miky high-fived Tails and said, "Hey do you want to go for a walk?"

Tails shook his head, "Sorry, I was going to do some work on the X Tornado. She needs a tune up."

Miky replied, "Its ok. I'll just wander about and practice my telekinesis. See ya!"

* * *

Miky strolled down the forest path humming. Looking down she saw a small smooth stone covered in moss. She stopped, pointed at the stone, and focused. A yellow aura surrounded her hand and the stone which begun to shake. Miky lifted her finger upward slightly and the stone hovered off the ground. Miky drew circles in the air and the stone followed suit. She began to walk once more, making the stone turn and spin as she went. She passed another stone, about the size of a plate, and lifted it with her other hand. She continued to stroll while manipulating both stones. She would drop them and catch them out of midair, launch and stop them in their tracks.

At one point, Miky tried to break the small one in half while keeping the larger one suspended in the air. She stared at the small one and focused on a mental image of it breaking in two. The little stone began to shudder. Miky focused harder and without warning, the stone seem to explode sending dust and tiny bits everywhere causing Miky to yelp. Her concentration broken, the large stone fell and landed on her tail, thus bringing forth a loud, pained cry. She yanked her tail from under the stone and sighed.

Ever since Miky had begun practicing, she had been able to move things just fine but if she wanted to do anything else, she always wound up crushing or mangling whatever she was working with. She was getting very frustrated and discouraged. Miky continued to walk, lost in thought. She noticed that the sun was much brighter than it was a minute ago and looked around. Miky gasped as she realized that she had wandered onto a seaside cliff that overlooked the ocean and had a view of the beach to the right.

Even though Tails had told Miky about the cliff, she had never been there and she was stunned by its beauty. The cliff was grassy and a constant breeze was blowing. The ocean sparkled in the sun and the waves crested on the horizon. Miky sat on the edge and took in the mix of sweet forest smells and the salt ocean air.

* * *

Her ears shot up as footsteps sounded behind her. Miky was on her feet and facing the forest as a black hedgehog emerged. Miky tilted her head to side, "Who are you?"

The black hedgehog appeared bewildered at her presence, "I should ask you the same of you. I haven't seen you around here before."

Miky replied, "Well, I only just came to this area a few weeks ago. Do you live around here like Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles?"

The hedgehog answered, "Yes. You never answered my question though."

Miky smiled, "Oops, sorry. My name is Mikysara. But you can call me Miky if you want. What's your name?"

There was a pause before the reply came, "Shadow the Hedgehog."

Miky smiled once more, "Nice to meet you Shadow! Do you come to this cliff often?"

Shadow shrugged, "Sometimes."

Miky turned toward the sea, "It's so beautiful isn't it? I wish I had found it sooner. I bet this would be the perfect place to watch the sunset."

Shadow nodded, "It is. The sun looks like its setting the entire ocean on fire. But you have to come at the just the right time."

Miky whirled around, her eyes sparkling, "Really?" At that moment, her ponytail came undone and her fire-like hair fell into her eyes. Miky took the fuzzy green elastic that used to be her scrunchie and tied it up once more, pulling the knot tight, "Sorry about that. My scrunchie got torn and I haven't been able to replace it. I can't tie a decent knot to save my life! But what you said about the sunset, is it true?"

Shadow folded his arms across his chest, "Why would I lie?"

Miky paused before saying slowly, "Do you think…. You could show me?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "What, the sunset?"

Miky nodded vigorously, "Yes!" She grabbed one of his hands and squeezed while looking into his red eyes with her deep teal ones. "Please?"

Shadow, taken aback by her enthusiasm, stepped back, "Calm down, it's just a sunset."

Miky's ears drooped slightly as she stepped back as well, "Sorry, I get excited sometimes. That sounds like it would be so amazing to see. Besides, I shouldn't ask such a thing of a stranger. I need to go anyways. Bye." Miky started to leave and Shadow watched her thoughtfully.

Just as she was about to enter the Emerald Forest, he said, "Hey." Miky turned to him. "Do you really want to see the sunset that bad?" She nodded. "Then come to this spot tomorrow evening at 5:00 sharp."

Miky's face lit up as she ran over and hugged him, "Thank you so much! I won't be a second late, I promise!" She released Shadow and said, "But I really do have to get going. Tails will wonder if I got lost. Bye Shadow!" With that, Miky ran into the Forest and disappeared, leaving Shadow alone on the cliff.

He shook his head and mumbled to himself, "I have never seen anyone that excited over a sunset. But something about her… I just can't put my finger on it."

* * *

**Author's Note: Finally! Shadow has entered the picture! But not without being bewildered by Miky's excitableness lol. I'm sure he'll get used to it, he'll have to if he's going to stick around. Please read, review, and enjoy!**


	6. 2 Beginings & A Mission

**Chapter 6**

The next day, Sonic and Knuckles were over at Tails' house and everyone was hanging out. Miky looked at a clock on the living room wall. Upon seeing it was 4:45 PM, she jumped from her seat, "I'm going to go to the seaside cliff. See you guys later!" before anyone could reply, Miky was already out the door.

Sonic said, "Ok… That was a bit unexpected. I wonder why she was in such a huge hurry."

Knuckles pointed out, "She's always like that. Always in a tizzy or excited about something."

Tails, "Oh crap! I had something that I wanted to give her!"

Knuckles asked, "What is it?"

Tails held out a green bracelet, "It's a limiter. I made it to weaken her powers while she practices, so it would be a little easier. It's like training wheels."

Sonic stood, "Do you want me to chase her down?"

Tails replied, "Nah that's ok. I'll just give it to her when she gets back."

* * *

Miky reached the seaside cliff panting. The sun was beginning to dip in the sky turning the clouds pink like cotton candy. She looked to see Shadow already standing near the edge staring out at the ocean.

He turned his face toward her, "Oh, there you are. Just in time to see your precious sunset." Miky came to edge as the sun neared the ocean. It began to sink into it and the whole sea turned bright red as orange streamed into the sky.

Miky's eyes grew wide, "Your right! It looks like the sea _is_ on fire!"

Shadow looked at her for a moment before saying hesitantly, "Just like your hair."

Miky cocked her head, confused, "Huh?"

Shadow replied, "Your hair. It looks like fire."

Miky blinked, "It does? Is that bad?"

Shadow couldn't stop a smile from coming to his lips at Miky's cluelessness, "No, it's not bad. It was a compliment."

Embarrassed at the compliment and the fact it had to be explained to her, Miky blushed, "Oh. Um, uh, thank you." Miky frantically searched for something nice to say, "Um… Thank you for showing me this. It's very kind of you."

Shadow responded, "It's not that big of a deal."

Miky asked, "Do you have any friends?"

Shadow shook his head, "Not really."

Miky gasped, "What? That's horrible!

Shadow shrugged, "Eh, it's not that big of a deal."

Miky looked at the ground, "No one should be alone..." Suddenly, her head shot up and she turned to Shadow excitedly, "That settles it! I'll be your friend!"

Shadow looked surprised, "What? But why?"

Miky smiled, "Everyone needs at least one friend. Besides," Here she paused and laughed as she quoted, "' You seem like a nice person to me.'"

Shadow replied, "Well if you insist."

Miky grinned, "I do insist."

* * *

Over the next week, Miky left Tails' house every day at some time or another to go hang out with Shadow. The two got to know each other gradually over long talks and strolls up down the beach. When the week had ended, Miky had been with the gang for a month. She went to stay at Sonic's house so that he could start to teach her basic combat skills.

The two were standing in Sonic's backyard together as Sonic explained what they would be doing for the day, "Ok. First things first. Probably the most important part of combat in our business is avoiding attacks."

Miky asked, "Avoiding?"

"Yeah. If you get tagged by an attack, how are you supposed to counter? That's why you avoid it, and strike back. Now let's get started. The usual stuff we have to dodge is missiles, machine gun fire, swings of robot arms, giant robot feet, lasers; the list goes on and on. I'll show you some basic moves to copy and once you got that down, we'll move on to the fancier stuff."

Miky nodded, causing her ponytail to come undone. As she groaned and tied it back up Sonic chuckled, "Oh, and make sure that thing is good and tight."

* * *

All morning Sonic and Miky practiced different rolls, side steps, and several other evasive moves. After a small lunch break, they continued to practice, at first focusing on getting the moves down, but then turning to perfecting speed. As evening approached, they took a small break. Sonic sat in the grass, "Whew! Keep that up, and nothing will be able to hit ya!"

Miky who was lying back, laughed, "Well, I'm learning from the best!"

Sonic chuckled, "I wouldn't say that."

Miky gave him a poke, "Don't be so modest! You're so fast, nothing in the world could hit you!"

At the poke, Sonic scooted away laughing, "Hey, watch it!"

Miky sat up and poked him again, "What, are you ticklish?"

Sonic yelped, "Yes stop it!"

Miky poked Sonic once more and began to tickle him; Sonic tried to say something but collapsed into a fit of giggling.

He managed to gasp, "Stop, Stop, I can't breathe!"

Miky backed off, "Oh geez, I'm sorry! Are you ok?"

"Surprise!" Sonic jumped up and started to tickle Miky whose laughter came in squeals.

She tried to fend him off to no avail as she screamed, "No fair, that's playin' dirty!"

Sonic, still tickling, said in a sing-song voice, "You have to always be on your guard!"

Miky was laughing hysterically, "Ok, ok, ok! I give, I give! My guts are gonna explode, I give!"

Sonic released her, "You give up too easy! I see tomorrow's lesson is going to be escaping from an enemies' grasp!"

Miky sat up, "Good. Then I'll show ya who's boss!"

Sonic winked, "We'll see about that." Here he got to his feet and stretched, "Well, it's getting late. Let's call it day."

Miky stood as well, "Say what time is it?"

Sonic looked at his wrist communicator, "Its almost 5. Why?"

Miky exclaimed, "Oh no! I'm gonna be late. I'll see ya later Sonic!"

With that, she ran off, leaving Sonic to ask thin air, "Late for what?"

* * *

Miky reached the seaside cliff just as the sun was beginning to set. Shadow was already there. He turned towards Miky with an air of surprise, "There you are. I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

Miky's ears drooped, "I'm really sorry! Sonic was teaching me how to dodge attacks, then we started just messin around, and I completely lost track of time."

Shadow replied, "It's alright I understand. You're still in time for the best part." Together, they watched the sun set into the blazing ocean.

Miky sighed, "No matter how many times I see it, it's still the most beautiful thing in the world." Shadow nodded and turned away. Miky looked at him with concern, "Shadow? Is something wrong?"

He opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it and instead said, "Its nothing."

Miky touched his shoulder, "Come on, you know you can tell me anything."

Shadow paused before saying, "Remember when you told me that you couldn't remember your past? Well, I can't remember mine either. I only know bits and pieces about the life I had before." Miky gasped "But, I know how to get some answers."

Eyes wide, Miky asked, "Really?"

Shadow nodded, "Yes. I know that I used to live in a place called Space Colony ARK with a man named Professor Gerald Robotnick and his granddaughter Maria. The ARK was a government research facility, what I was doing there, I don't know. But, Dr. Eggman is his grandson and I figure that he must have some of Professor Gerald's notes, journals, or something that could tell me more about my past. But there's just one problem."

Pressing Shadow to go on Miky said, "What's the problem?"

Shadow sighed as he rubbed his temples, "I was planning to infiltrate the Doctor's base but he has severely increased his security measures. The information I'm looking for could be several computers and I wouldn't have time to look through it all before being caught. It would be impossible to do it alone."

Miky was silent a moment. She than put a hand on Shadow's shoulder, "I'll come with you."

Shadow stammered, "W-What?! No, No, I couldn't ask that of you!"

Miky replied, "Well than don't. How else are you going to get that information? We'll go together."

Shadow turned away from her, "No, I can't put you in that kind of danger Miky."

Miky exclaimed, "I can handle it! I'm sick of people telling me about how dangerous stuff is! I want to help you Shadow I really do. Let me help you. Please."

Shadow folded his arms, "Well… fine. But I do have a plan and if you're going to help me, you need to stick to it."

Miky crossed her arms as well, "There's no reason to tell me that. Don't you think I can follow a plan?"

Shadow shrugged, "You are a little…"

Miky narrowed her eyes at him, "A little what?"

The black hedgehog hesitated, "Excitable?" Miky turned her head away in a huff. Shadow added, "But, it's not like that's a bad thing. Come on, you're not seriously mad?"

Miky whirled around with a grin on her face, "Of course not! I was just kidding!"

Shadow stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and saying with a tiny chuckle, "You're something else you know that?"

Miky laughed, "I'll take that in a good way." She than became serious as she asked, "So when are we going to Eggman's base?"

Shadow thought for a moment before answering, "The sooner the better. We should do it tomorrow."

Miky replied, "If sooner is better, than lets go tonight. Besides, it's easier to sneak into places under the cover of darkness, right?"

Shadow nodded, "Yes. Wait here, I have to grab something from home. It won't take long."

Miky started for the forest, "Ok, I should tell Sonic where I'm going. Come to think of it, I don't believe I even mentioned that we're friends."

Shadow grabbed her wrist, "Maybe its best you don't mention it." Miky gave him a quizzical look. "You see, in the time I've known Sonic and his friends, I done some things I'm not proud of. It's a long and sort of complicated story. In short, Sonic isn't very fond of me. Not to mention he'd try and stop you from going, wouldn't he?"

Miky slowly nodded, "Yeah, Sonic is especially keen on keeping me off the battlefield until my training is complete. All right, I'll wait here."

Shadow pulled out the red Chaos Emerald, "Chaos Control!" Miky gasped as he disappeared in a flash of light. A minute later he reappeared with a pistol and belt with several clips of ammunition.

Miky jumped back, "Woah! First of all, how did you do that, and second, why do you have a pistol?!"

Shadow loaded his pistol and clicked off the safety, "I always carry this pistol. I just went to get my ammo belt. As for how, it's something called Chaos Control. Come on, let's do this."

* * *

**Author's Note: *sigh* There goes Miky again, underestimating the obstacles before her. Lets hope it doesn't bite her in butt like last time! Oh yeah, just a little side note, I hope to have the first chapter of a Pokemon story ready soon. Please read, review, and enjoy!**


	7. Espionage

**Chapter 7**

Miky and Shadow appeared in some brush behind Eggman's base using Chaos Control.

Miky swayed and toppled over, "Whoa, I'm dizzy."

Shadow helped her up, "It will wear off soon, you're just dizzy because we traveled across space in less than a second. The more you Chaos Control, the easier it is. Now here's the plan. There's an air vent on the back wall over there, that's where we'll enter. There's going to be laser detection beams all throughout so I hope you know how to maneuver. After we enter the main server room, I'll set off this small EMP designed specifically for security cameras. Then we have to hack into Eggman's database and retrieve the files we're looking for. Escape is simple; we go out the same way we came in. Got it?"

Miky nodded, "Got it. But what if we get caught?"

Shadow replied, "Just make a break for the vent, crawl out, and run for the cliff. Don't worry about me; I know how to handle myself."

Miky started to protest, but knew better and nodded, "Ok let's go."

* * *

The two snuck to the vent. Shadow pulled on it but it didn't budge, "Rats, it appears to be welded. Maybe you could use your telekinesis to rip it out or something?"

Miky hesitated, "I don't know… I don't have much control over my powers yet. Isn't there some other way we can get in?"

Shadow shook his head, "Any other points we can get in through are heavily guarded. This is the safest, most direct route."

Miky took a deep breath and held out her hands in front of her towards the vent, "Ok. I'll give it a shot." She focused her power, causing the familiar yellow aura to form around her hands. Miky focused harder and felt a surge flow through her as she closed her hands into fists. In sync with this gesture, the bars on the vent collapsed and bunched together as if they were being grasped. Miky jerked to the side as if yanking something and the vent flew from the wall and landed with a small crash in a tree.

Shadow winced at the sound and whispered, "Be quieter or we'll be detected!"

Miky shrugged, "Sorry, I told you I can't control it yet. Maybe I should start wearing that limiter bracelet Tails made me more often."

Shadow folded his arms, "Miky, I already told you, don't let anyone put limits on you or your powers. Not even your friends. You'll never get a proper handle on your powers or your true potential with that bracelet on."

Miky nodded, "I suppose your right… practice makes perfect. Come on, let's get those files."

* * *

They crawled into the vent and barely got five feet before hitting the laser detection beams. Shadow went first, sliding under, going over, and slipping in-between lasers with an ease that seemed practiced. Miky followed after with slightly less grace, but nevertheless without setting off the alarm. The two reached the exit vent into the main server room. This one was not welded in place so Shadow was able to remove it easily. He then produced the EMP, a small blue ball that resembled a grenade. He pulled the pin and rolled it into the room.

Shadow turned away from the vent opening, "Close your eyes and cover your ears." Miky did so, hearing a muffled pop and boom. On Shadow's signal they exited the vent into the main server room. "So far so good. That EMP has the cameras stunned for 15 minutes so let's not waste any time."

Shadow pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into one of the main hard-drives. The screen of the two connected computers began to flash password requests and the codes filled themselves in. Within seconds, Shadow and Miky had unrestricted access to the entire database.

Shadow began to scan through the lists of file types and categories as Miky said, "Shadow, you're really good with this kind of stuff. Between the lasers and the hacking flash drive, you seem like you've done this before."

Still looking, Shadow answered, "I just know how to handle myself. See what you can find on that second computer. We're running out of time." Miky nodded and began to look as well. A minute later, Miky exclaimed, "I found something! It's that Professor Gerald's journal entries! This whole folder is full of them! And this one next to it is research notes!"

"Good. Now all we have to do is download them into the flash drive." Said Shadow as he typed a code and the files began to transfer into the flash drive.

* * *

The transfer was halfway done as Shadow checked the time, "Eight minutes left. Hopefully, this won't take much longer."

Suddenly, a loud blaring alarm sounded and red lights began to flash. Miky shouted, "What's going on?!"

Shadow pulled out his pistol, "Damn! Eggman must have noticed the cameras were down and found a way to restore power to them!"

Miky asked, "What do we do?"

Shadow pointed at the vent, "We follow the plan. I have to stay until the transfer is complete."

Miky grabbed his hand, "No, I'm not going to leave without you!"

Shadow pulled away, "You said you would stick to the plan, now get outta here!"

At that moment the door opened and several large Egg Fighters stormed in. Upon spotting the intruders, they charged, firing lasers and swinging their arms. With her new training, Miky dodged the lasers easily. Shadow jumped onto once of the computers and fired at the lead Egg Fighter. The bullets bounced off of the metal casing of its outer body harmlessly.

"Damn! Looks like we have to this the old fashioned way." said Shadow as he leapt into the air. He launched himself forward in a Homing Attack. Shadow smashed into the head of the lead robot, crushing it. The Egg Fighter sparked and sputtered before exploding. The rest quickly short-circuited and followed suit. Shadow turned to Miky, "Listen, more of those squads are headed this way, get in that vent and get out of here. Now!"

Right on que, three more squads tried to flood the room. Miky focused her powers on one of the robots. It stopped dead in its tracks and suddenly it began to spark and crush inward like a soda can until exploded. Miky staggered a little bit and tried to catch her breath. One of the Egg Fighters came at Miky from behind and tried to grab her. She stumbled underneath it but another Fighter came from nowhere and snatched her up.

* * *

Miky screamed, "AH! Put me down you rusty junk heap! Let me go!"

Shadow jumped into the air once more and pulled out the red Chaos Emerald, "Chaos Spear!" Three long shafts of light appeared in Shadow's hand. With a flick of his wrist, the spears flew into the CPUs of all three lead robots causing them and their squads to explode. The flash drive beeped, signaling the transfer was complete. Shadow yanked it from the computer and ran to Miky who was getting to her feet, "It's done, let's get out of here."

Another squad burst into the room and fired their lasers.

* * *

Shadow grabbed Miky, "Chaos Control!" The two disappeared just as the lasers blasted the very spot they were standing in. They appeared back on the Seaside Cliff. Shadow asked, "Are you hurt?"

Miky shook her head, "No. I'm-"

"Well you could have been! Why didn't you follow the plan?!" interrupted Shadow.

Miky replied, "I wanted to help!"

Shadow shouted, "I can take care of myself! That's why, if something went wrong, I told you to run!"

Miky took a step back, "Why are you getting so mad about this?"

"I'm mad because," Shadow let out an exasperated sigh and mumbled, "I, I don't want to see you get hurt."

Miky's ears perked in an attempt to hear him, "Huh?"

Shadow sighed once again, "I don't want to see you get hurt… that's why I'm mad." He continued hesitantly, "For the past week we've been friends and getting to know each other… in that time I've… come to like you… a lot." Miky tilted her head, confused at what Shadow was getting at.

Still, she responded, "I've come to like you a lot too."

Shadow looked at his shoes, "This might be an odd or weird time to ask but…" Here he looked up into Miky's eyes, "I want to get to know you as something more than a friend."

Miky's face turned bright red as she replied, "Something more? Me?"

Shadow stepped forward and took both her hands in his, "It's a little forward, I know but, I don't like to beat around the bush. So, what do you say?"

Miky wrapped Shadow in a huge hug, "Yes."

Shadow walked Miky back to Sonic's house. A ways up the path he said good night and left. Miky walked up to the porch and went inside where Sonic was waiting nervously.

* * *

When she came inside, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh thank Chaos! I was just about to go looking for you!"

Miky said bashfully, "Sorry to make you worry. I lost track of time. Since it was dark, I had a little bit of trouble finding my way back."

Sonic laughed, "Aren't raccoons supposed to have night vision?"

Miky laughed as well, "Mine is broke."

After a good laugh, Sonic and Miky went to bed. Sonic flopped down on the living room couch, which he claimed was the comfiest couch in the world, and Miky headed upstairs to the attic bedroom where she was to sleep during her stay. As she settled in, Miky couldn't help but think of the lie she told Sonic. She didn't want to lie but, based on what Shadow said, it might cause a bunch of problems between him and Sonic. Choosing what she thought to be the lesser of the two evils, Miky decided that for now it was best that Sonic and the others didn't know about Shadow.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, well, well! Looks like Miky and Shadow have captured each others hearts! It wasn't too corny was it? I would hate to make Shadow look like an over-sappy person . Anyways, please read, review, and enjoy! **


	8. Advanced Training

**Chapter 8**

Miky raced down the attic stairs two at a time at Sonic's call. She miss-stepped on the last ones and almost fell flat on her face if it weren't for the speedy hedgehog appearing at the last second to catch her, "Whoa! When I said hurry up I didn't mean throw yourself down the stairs!"

Miky shrugged, "Sorry. But what's rush anyways?"

Sonic chuckled and began to pull her towards the backyard, "Come on and you'll find out!"

Another month had passed since Miky came to live with Sonic and in that time, she had learned every kind of evasive maneuver and some light, fast attacks. But even so, Miky was still daunted when she discovered what was waiting in the back yard.

* * *

"Is that-?!" exclaimed Miky as she jumped back.

Standing like a statue was an Egg Fighter. Tails flew up and sat on its head. In his hands was a controller of sorts.

Tails laughed, "Relax, of all the nasty tin cans Eggman has made over the years, this one is… not as nasty."

Miky relaxed, "So…why is it here?"

"Well, one day me and Sonic found it wandering by itself. It had gone outside of its control radius so it wasn't receiving instructions anymore. Of course, all of Eggman's robots are programmed to attack us on sight. But, I had an idea; instead of wrecking the thing, why not disable it and use it for something better?"

"Like what?" asked Miky.

Tails laughed again, "As a punching bag! After Sonic got it immobilized, I shut it down and back at the lab I reprogrammed it."

Sonic gave the robot a solid kick, "Not mention made it little sturdier."

Tails rolled his eyes, "I had to. One round and you would have broken it!"

"I can't help it if I got the moves. But anyways Tails tell her the cool part."

"Oh yeah! I programmed it with four modes. Offensive, Defensive, Battle, and RC. Here, look at the controller."

Miky took the video game-like controller. It had two joysticks, a few small buttons, one large button, and a dial labeled with the modes Tails had said and 'off'. She handed it back to Tails and asked, "What does each mode do?"

Tails replied, "Offensive mode is just what it sounds like. The robot will come at you with everything it's got so it's good to practice evasion. Defensive mode is just the opposite and is good for practicing attacks. Battle mode combines Offensive and Defensive simulating actual combat. And RC is where you have full control of the robot and its every move."

"I saw a big button on the controller. What does it do?"

"That is the failsafe. If something goes wrong, like a malfunction, one press of this button will fry the robot's circuits. There's also a button on the robot itself to manually turn it off. That's what you're trying to do when you train with it. The button is here on the back of the head."

"Ok. That sounds kinda easy."

Sonic leaned against the robot, "Well I hope so! I asked Tails to bring it over here as a way to help you bring everything I've taught you so far together."

Miky nodded, her eyes burning with determination, "I'll give it all I got!"

Sonic gave her a thumbs up, "That's what I love to see! Fire it up Tails!"

Tails jumped off the robot's head and stepped off to the side, "Ok. I'll put it RC mode first and start off slow. When you get the hang of it, we'll switch to Offensive mode. Ready Miky?"

"Ready!"

"Ok, here we go."

* * *

Tails turned the dial to RC and began to move the joysticks. The robot came to life and clunked toward Miky. Tails jerked a joystick and the robot swung its arm at her. Miky bent over backwards so her hands touched the ground and the swing passed harmlessly over her. She flipped backwards and onto her feet. Tails pressed a button and the robot's hands retracted into its arms and laser shooters came out. Tails pressed the button again and the robot began firing laser bursts. Miky ran, the bursts making craters where her feet had been moments before. She then rolled under the fire and began running the opposite way. She continued this serpentine pattern as she neared the robot. When she was a few feet away, Miky jumped towards the robot. Tails jerked the joystick and the robot swung. Miky started to tuck into a ball so that she might avoid it, but she started too late. The arm caught her shin and sent her spiraling through the air and landing her violently on the ground.

* * *

Sonic was at once by her side, "Are you ok?"

Miky slowly got up, "Ugh… I'm fine…"

Tails rushed over as well, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Miky shook her head, "I'm fine really. Come on, let's go again."

Sonic gave her a questioning look, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. Tails go a little slower."

"No! Same speed as last time."

"Um, ok. You heard her Tails."

Tails and Sonic went to the sidelines again as Tails called out, "Ready?"

"Ready!"

* * *

Tails moved the robot forward, and swung the joystick. The robot complied and Miky rolled to side. She glanced at Tails to see him push a button and thrust the joystick forward. She looked back at the robot to see it outstretch its arms and lunge. Miky rolled again. A look at Tails revealed a repeat maneuver, Miky rolled out of its path again. She looked at Tails to see him swing both joysticks. Miky escaped the swing of the first but not the swing off the second arm. It plowed into her middle and knocked her to the ground.

* * *

She staggered to her feet, coughing. At last Miky managed to say, "Again."

Sonic said worriedly, "Maybe we should take a break."

Miky looked at him, her eyes still alight with fierce determination, "No, I'm fine."

Sonic gave in, "Ok. But don't look at Tails. Watch the robot."

Miky turned her attention to the robot, "Got it."

* * *

Tails set the robot in motion and Miky dashed straight towards it. The robot swung both of its arms and Miky slid under both arms and through its the legs. She flipped onto her feet on the other side and jumped at the back of the robot's head, hand reaching for the button. The top section of the robot whirled around and grabbed Miky. She struggled to get free. She wrapped her legs around the robot's arm and began to twist. But before the arm could break, the robot threw her towards the ground. Miky slammed into the ground and bounced. Midair she got her feet under her and hit the ground once more in a kneeling skid. Panting, she stood. The robot readied its laser shooters. It began to fire and Miky used her serpentine tactic once more. When she was close enough, she jumped and began to tuck at the same time. But the robot aimed upward and fired. The laser burst launched Miky backwards. She hit the ground and rolled to a stop.

* * *

She began to stand but collapsed. Sonic caught her and said, "I think we're done for today."

Miky broke away from him and staggered forward, "No I can do this! I know I can!"

Sonic supported her as she almost fell, "I know you can do it too, but for now, you need to stop and rest."

Tails turned the robot off and came over, "Sonic is right Miky. You gave it your best shot. You can try again some other time. The robot isn't going anywhere."

Miky tried to go forward but Sonic held her back. After a minute she slumped against him in defeat. Sonic put her arm around his shoulder and began to lead her towards the house, "I got this Tails. I'll see you later ok?"

Tails nodded and left with the robot.

* * *

Once Sonic got Miky inside the house, he led her to the kitchen and set her in a chair. He turned to the sink and wet a washcloth. He turned back to Miky and began to swab away the dirt on her face, "You really took a beating. Oop, here's a cut, hold still. I'm very proud of you."

Miky winced as he dabbed at the cut on her face, "What's there to be proud of? I failed, three times in a row."

"Hey, there will be no moping in this house. What happened to that determination I saw earlier?"

"I just thought I could do it you know? I thought I could execute everything you taught me."

"But Miky, you did! Every maneuver was perfect. We just need to work on your reaction time and speed. You can do it!"

"What makes you so sure?"

Sonic put the washcloth aside and looked at Miky, his emerald eyes staring deep into her teal ones, "Miky, I see something in you, something great. You're special and unique and that's what's going to help you do anything you put your mind to. Promise me that no matter how hard things may seem, you'll never give up. Because when you give up, that's when you fail. So promise me ok?"

Miky smiled, "I promise."

Sonic grinned back, "Alright! Now let's get you patched up so we can get in a full day of practicing tomorrow."

* * *

Later in the evening, Miky went to the Seaside Cliff to meet Shadow.

"Miky what happened to you?!" exclaimed Shadow when he saw Miky with several bruises and a Band-Aid here and there.

She replied, "Training got a little intense today. But I'm ok."

The two sat down towards the edge of the cliff and watched the sunset.

"So what in the world was going on to rough you up like that?"

"Well you see, Tails had this robot like the ones in Eggman's base that he had reprogrammed so he could control it with a little controller. It was kinda cool. The whole point was to help me practice my evasion skills. Sonic says I did pretty good but I need to work on my reaction time and speed. That's what we're going to do tomorrow. How was your day Shadow?"

"I can't complain. Just the usual."

"What's the usual?"

Shadow smiled, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

Miky burst out laughing, "Very funny Shadow, very funny."

* * *

**Author's Note: Whoo! Another chapter done! Looks like Miky still has a long way to go before she can play with the big dogs. But she'll get it sooner or later. Just a little teaser, me and Werehog20 (if you don't know who he is, check him out. Awesome stories) have a little surprise in store for everyone. Just something to look out for. Please read, review, and enjoy! **


	9. Getting Experience

**Chapter 9**

Miky stared out the window of Sonic's kitchen and sighed. It had been several days since her attempt to best Tails' RC Egg Fighter. She had been training hard and was improving but not fast enough for her taste.

A buzzing noise sounded behind Miky. She grabbed an oven mitt, opened the oven and pulled out a tray of cookies and set them on the counter. Sonic came into the kitchen, and took a deep sniff, "Mmm! Something smells good!"

Miky gestured half-heartedly to the tray, "Yeah, I just made some peanut butter cookies."

Sonic took a cookie and took a bite, "What's the matter? You seem down."

"I'm just a little frustrated. I'm still not where I want to be. How can you dodge so flawlessly like you do? Do I need to increase my reaction time?" shrugged Miky.

"I don't think it's that. Your reaction time is one of the fastest I've ever seen. Hmmm… Wait here, I'll be back." Sonic grabbed another cookie and left the kitchen. Miky turned and looked out the window once more. Then, without warning, "DUCK!"

"Wha-AH!" As Miky turned around, a throw pillow from the couch struck her in the face. She chucked it back at Sonic, "What was that for?"

Sonic caught it with ease and threw it over his shoulder, "I know what the problem is. You see, me, Tails, and Knuckles pretty much have our reflexes and things on a hair-trigger. We're in danger so much, we kinda have to. As soon as we hear the slightest noise that signals danger, WHOOSH! We're outta there!"

"So, my problem isn't how fast I react to danger, its detecting it. But how can I learn to detect danger better?"

"Maybe Tails can help. He can tweak the robot or something. Come on, let's go see him."

* * *

After explaining the problem over some of Miky's cookies, Tails said, "Well Sonic, your theory is extremely valid and I believe it's correct. But, as for your solution, I have to disagree."

"Why? The robot is a great training tool." replied Sonic

"Yes but, I don't think it will achieve the desired effect. Let me put it this way. A mama Flicky pushes her baby out of the nest so it will learn to fly. The baby learns out of necessity because it knows that if it doesn't fly, it will hit the ground. The principle is the same. If we use the robot, there's always the emergency stop button. Out in the field, there is no emergency stop. You do what needs doing or you're going to take a hit."

Miky nodded, "I see what you mean. I have to learn the same way you guys did, by experience. I'm game for it."

Sonic shook his head, "I just don't know if it's a good idea. I don't want see you get hurt."

"Sonic, you know as well as I do that in our line of work, you're going to take a few knocks." pointed out Tails.

"…Alright. Next time Eggman shows his ugly mug, you're gonna be there to help us send him packing Miky."

Miky grinned, "Sweet! I know it's bad when he shows up, but I can't wait for him to try something!" A small, but urgent, beeping sounded causing Tails to flip open his wrist communicator.

After a second of studying it, he flipped it closed, "Well Miky, I think you just got your wish! I'm picking up a huge surge of electrical and Chaos energy that's concentrated in a small area. Pockets like that are simply not natural. We should check it out."

* * *

With a quick call to Knuckles, the four set out to find the cause of energy signal. The signature led them into the heart of the forest. Knuckles took point position and led the group where his sense of Chaos Energy took him. He stopped in front of a ridge with rocks piled in front of it. The rocks looked overgrown with moss and grass as if it had been there a long time. "Here. The Chaos energy is radiating out of here."

"It looks like a collapsed cave entrance." said Tails as he studied the rocks.

Miky looked around as she laid a hand on the rock wall, "Hmmm…"

"Something up?" asked Sonic

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. So how are we going to get inside?"

Knuckles chuckled and cracked his namesake, "Leave that to me. RAH!" With one punch, the rocks shattered to dust and scattered about. The four entered the cave and began to look about. Knuckles knelt at a small fire pit in the middle of the cave floor, "Someone used to live here. But from the looks of things, that was years ago."

Sonic approached a bed of branches and moss that was dried up and brown, "This must have been where they slept, whoever they are."

Miky stood by the fire pit and turned a full circle, her eyes distant, "Guys… this place feels really… really…AH!" Miky dropped to her knees holding her head. Images began to flash through her mind and rush to the surface. Her head snapped up and she looked around with wide eyes.

"Are you alright?" asked Sonic as he, Tails, and Knuckles gathered around. Miky turned to the fire pit and began to remove the old logs and cinders. After Miky had removed the fire remains and started to dig in the dirt below. After a few minutes, she tossed out a small diary-looking book. After digging a little deeper, she pulled out a gleaming white Chaos Emerald and held it out to Knuckles.

Knuckles took the Emerald, "Ah ha! That's where it was!"

"How did you know it was there?" asked Tails

Miky replied, "Being in this place, it made me remember a few things."

Sonic's ears went up, "Really? Like what?"

"Well, it's not much, just bit and pieces. One thing I know for sure is that for a time I lived here. I don't know for how long or for why though. I certainly don't know why I buried a Chaos Emerald here or how I got it in the first place."

"Maybe this little book has some answers?" said Sonic as he handed Miky the worn book.

Before she could open it, Tails shouted, "WHOA, the electric signal I was picking up just went off the charts! Whatever it is, it's moving toward us!"

"We're sitting ducks in this cave. The minute we step out, we're easy targets!" growled Knuckles.

"Wait a minute!" Miky ran to the make-shift bed and kicked it aside revealing a hole. "Down here! I don't remember where it goes, but I think it's an exit of sorts." Miky jumped down the hole and Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, jumped after her. The hole went straight down for about four feet. Then it went straight like a tunnel into the darkness. Everyone looked to Miky who looked back confused, "What?"

"You took us down here! Where do we go?" asked Knuckles with exasperation

Miky shrugged and shouted with equal frustration, "I don't know! I can't remember!"

Looking at his wrist device, Tails cried, "Guys, whatever is up there is getting closer!" Above their heads, they could hear loud thuds and the whirring of hydraulics. The noises stopped and all went quiet. Suddenly, a series of bangs and crashes sounded and rubble fell through the hole as whatever was up top tore into the cave.

* * *

"GO, GO, GO! RUN! RUN!" ordered Sonic, gesturing down the tunnel. The four bolted down the dark tunnel as the sounds became louder. They ran for several feet before finding a dead end. Looking up, it appeared there was no trapdoor of any sort. Miky jumped up and pushed on the ceiling but only succeeded in bumping her head. Tails looked back the way they had come. A flickering blue light shone through the hole. Tails eyes widened as a the sound of crackling electricity and a twirling blue thing that looked a writhing lightning bolt came down the hole. He blinked and both were gone.

Nervous, he said, "We need to get out of here now."

"I'll handle this! HYA!" Knuckles jumped up and dug into the ceiling. When he reached the surface he called down, "Come on!" Sonic, Tails, and Miky jumped out. They had come up behind the ridge so whatever had broken into the cave was hidden from view.

Sonic took a step forward, "Now let's see what's causing all the ruckus!"

"Sonic, whatever that thing is giving off a huge electrical signal! It's extremely dangerous, I would feel a lot better if we came back prepared." urged Tails.

"…Alright. Let's bail."

The four fled the scene, doubled back, and returned to Tails' house. Once safe, Knuckles said irritably, "Miky, I thought you said that tunnel was an exit."

"I'm sorry. I thought it was. I couldn't really remember…"

"The important thing is that we're safe. But the real question is just what was that thing?!" pointed out Sonic.

Tails replied, "Whatever it was, it was looking for the Chaos Emerald. Speaking of which, Knuckles?"

Knuckles held up the white gem, "Safe and sound."

"Good. If I examine the electrical signature of that thing, I should be able to make an EMP that would knock it out. With the amount of power that thing was putting out, it must have a shield that would be nigh impenetrable." With that Tails went to his lab and got to work. Knuckles settled down on the couch to nap.

Sonic turned to Miky, "Hey, do you still have that book?"

Miky took it from a pocket in her skirt, "Yeah. I wonder if this will give some answers about why I was in that cave."

"Let's sit down in the kitchen and take a look."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello! It seems like forever since I've posted! Busy, busy, busy! Oh yeah! Me and Werehog20 are whipping up a holiday caper with the most dysfunctional family on Mobius making a comeback for Christmas! If you thought things were crazy before, it's gonna get crazier. Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy. **


	10. Dusty Memories

**Chapter 10**

Sonic and Miky sat down at the kitchen table with the little book that Miky had unearthed in the forest cave. Miky opened the book and read the first page aloud, "Plant and Wildlife Journal/Mission Log? Why was I documenting plants and animals? And what mission?"

"Only one way to find out." Sonic turned the page to reveal several fading labeled and detailed drawings of different trees and ferns. "Hey, these plants can be found all over the Emerald Forest!"

Miky studied the drawings and turned a few dusty pages, "This one has flowers. So does this one. Huh? A journal entry!"

Sonic scooted his chair closer, "What does it say?"

"The writing is really worn. I think it says, 'I've been here on this planet for about a week now. I go out at night and document the plants. There is a large variety of them but I've yet to see any animals. Perhaps I shall venture from my cave during the day and see what there is to be discovered.' The rest is too faded to read. Wait a minute, 'this planet'? Am I not from Mobius?"

"That would be strange but not totally impossible. Visitors from other planets, heck even other galaxies, aren't exactly rare. Sometimes they're Mobians too."

"Ok… I suppose if I'm from another planet that would explain why I was documenting this stuff."

"That must have been your mission, to learn more about Mobius for your home planet."

"But where and what is my home planet?"

"Well let's keep reading and see if you mention it."

* * *

The two leafed through the book, gazing at the pictures of plants, and later, animals. They skimmed through the written entries, though most of them were faded and worn from the pages from being buried in the fire pit. The entries went on about how intriguing Mobius was, the huge variety of life, and one mentioned the white Chaos Emerald. The last readable entry was marked as 'Day 182'.

Miky read, "'I fear something horrible is coming to this forest, no, this continent. There have been many tremors lately.' Too faded… 'Something is coming and it seems the whole forest is holding its breath and bracing itself. The last tremor nearly caused the ceiling to collapse.' Can't read that… '-whether or not to take the gem I found with me or to leave it behind. It emits a great power that is quite unnerving. In any case, whatever disaster is reading to befall this area, I am planning to be far from it.' And the rest is illegible. Hm. That must be why I left the cave. Before the 'disaster' I must have stashed the Chaos Emerald and this journal in the fire pit for safekeeping."

Knuckles came in yawning, "What's going on?"

Miky replied excitedly, "We dug something up from my past! Apparently I'm from another planet! I came here to research Mobius' plants and animals."

"Like for an invasion?" asked Knuckles

"No, no, it looks like it was a purely scientific expedition."

"What's scientific?" said Tails as he walked into the room.

"Sonic and I were looking through the journal I found in the cave. From what we can tell, it looks like I came here from another planet to research life on Mobius."

"Cool! What else did you find?"

Sonic showed Tails the pages of the journal, "If there's anything else to find, we're not going to. Pretty much everything in this little book was worn away by the dirt it was buried in. We were lucky to get what we did!"

Tails thought for a moment before answering, "Maybe if I scan the pages into my super computer, we can digitally restore it. But we can do that later. While you guys were doing that, I made this little baby." Tails held up a large purple grenade.

"Holy chilidogs with jalapenos, what is that?!" exclaimed Sonic pointing.

"This is a high-powered, energy signature specialized, electromagnetic pulse grenade."

"You lost me at… the moment you started talking." said Knuckles as he scratched his head.

"Put simply, it's an EMP that will knock out the thing in the forest. Well, temporarily. It will regain power after a minute or two but, we can trash it in half that time."

Sonic whistled, "Sweet! Well what are we waiting for? Let's go find that thing and take it down!"

Tails flipped open his wrist communicator, "The electrical signal is still there. It's on the move though so let's hurry!"

* * *

The four piled into the X-Tornado and took off. As the jet gained speed and the wind started to pick up, Sonic jumped onto the wing of the plane, crouching slightly to prevent being blown off.

"Sonic what are you doing?!" shouted Miky over the roar of the engines and wind.

"This is only way to fly for me! You should try it!" shouted Sonic back.

"No way! I'll fall!"

"No ya won't! It'll be a million years before I let that happen! Trust me!" Sonic held out his hand. Miky looked at it and then at Sonic.

Fear was carved into her face as she also glanced down as well and looked back at Sonic rapidly shaking her head, "I can't do it!"

A warm kind smile came to Sonic's face as he moved a little closer with his hand still outstretched, "Trust me." Miky hesitantly reached out her own hand and firmly grasped Sonic's. He slowly pulled her out of her seat and onto the wing of the plane.

"Eep!" she cried upon feeling the first gust of wind. Miky clung to Sonic, her eyes squeezed shut. Sonic carefully shimmed further out onto the wing, his arms wrapped around Miky tightly and never leaving. When they stopped moving, Miky dared to open her eyes. Before her she saw billowing clouds rolling by and the sky wide and blue. The wind had undone her ponytail and now her red hair was being blown about so that it really did look like a raging fire. "This is amazing!"

"I know!" Sonic had his eyes closed and his chin tilted upward. He was smiling contently as the wind rushed by his face and whipped his quills into a flurry.

* * *

After the X-Tornado reached its destination, a small shrubby plain, everyone got out and turned to Tails on where to go next.

"So where is this thing?" asked Knuckles as he knocked his fists together lightly.

Tails opened his wrist device and studied it carefully, "According to these readings… we should be… right… under it?" They looked up and gasped as a huge robot was falling from the sky, casting a deadly shadow under it.

"RUN!" shouted Sonic as everyone scattered.

The robot hit the ground with thundering force and a familiar voice sounded, "Hello Sonic! Did you miss me?" Eggman rose from the cockpit, an evil grin on his face as he stroked his mustache, "What do you think of my latest mech?"

"Like its creator, I think its butt ugly!"

"Come on Sonic, sometimes you have to stand back a little to see the beauty in things." said Tails as he took a step back. Immediately he shrieked, "Oh Chaos it's even uglier!"

"At this moment I would say, 'let's mess that tin can up!' But it looks like someone beat us to the punch!" said Knuckles with a grin. The four burst out laughing as Eggman's face turned scarlet with rage.

"ENOUGH!" he shouted enraged, "I'LL TEACH YOU TO MOCK ME!" Eggman dove into his mech's cockpit and started it up. It was a huge mech that had a humanoid shape, was adorned with red, yellow, and black colors, and had Eggman's ghastly symbol on the front. The torso could rotate a full 360 degrees and out of the palms of its hands came long, pulsating blue and white whips of pure electricity.

Tails gasped, "That's gotta be more than 3 million volts of electricity!"

"So what's our plan of attack?" asked Miky

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles looked at each other before Sonic answered, "Ok, me and Knuckles will keep that thing busy. Tails, put that gadget to good use."

Miky looked at Sonic eagerly, "And me?"

"Ummm… You can… be the backup."

"Backup? But I thought I'm supposed to be getting experience!"

"Well I'm sure we'll need it but for now just stay in this shrub. Don't worry; you'll get your chance." Miky shrunk into the large bush Sonic had gestured to with a disappointed look. Sonic turned back to his remaining team, "Ok guys let's do this!"

* * *

"MUHAHAHA! You will never defeat me this time! GO EGG-LASHER!" shouted Eggman as he sent his mech at the group, its lightning whips ready to strike. It swung one of the whips at Sonic but he easily flipped out of the way. Knuckles jumped at the mech and threw a punch with one of his huge fists but the robot, much to the echidna's surprise, moved nimbly aside. The Egg-Lasher snapped one of it whips and the tip just missed Knuckles' back as he dove to the ground.

Tails was flying in circles overhead and cried, "Knuckles be careful! Who knows what that much electricity will do to you!"

"Well than, let me show what it can do, you annoying little flying pest!" Eggman cracked the whip and it was crackling towards Tails. He dived downwards but the tip followed him. Tails tried to pull up but failed as he hit the ground roughly. The Egg-Lasher cracked the whip again and it was about to deliver a full devastating blow as Sonic rushed toward Tails while Knuckles tried to smash the arm controlling the whip, missing. Sonic reached Tails but there was no time to do anything but throw himself in front of the fox. The lightning whip lashed across Sonic's back causing him to scream in agony and fall to the ground.

"Sonic get up! He's gonna strike again! Get up!" begged Tails as he tried to pull Sonic to his feet.

"My legs! I can't feel my legs!" Sonic shouted as he kept falling every time Tails put him on his feet.

"HAHA! The massive amount of electricity must have paralyzed your nervous system! How shocking!" cackled Eggman and as he winded back the robot's arm.

Tails flew into the sky and landed beside Knuckles, "Knuckles you're going to have to get him focused on you long enough so I can use the EMP."

The dread sporting guardian nodded and charged forward, "Got it!" He jumped up and managed to latch onto the torso of the mech and began to furiously punch through its armor. Just as he was about to reach important wires and machinery, the torso began to spin round and round at an increasing speed. Knuckles tried to hold on but he lost his grip and went flying. He landed on his feet and skidded to a halt in front of the shrub that concealed Miky.

She poked her head out and asked, "Can I help now?"

Knuckles replied, "No stay there for now. I can handle this!" He ran at the Egg-Lasher as it swung both lightning whips at him. Knuckles slid under the first and jumped over the second and continued to run straight forward.

Both Miky and Tails shouted, "KNUCKLES BEHIND YOU!" He turned his head in time to see both whiplash backwards and strike him in the back and shoulder. He collapsed in a fit of screams and twitches.

Miky burst out of the shrub and ran to Tails, "Do you need that backup now!?"

* * *

"Most certainly! We need to try a different- look out!" Tails shoved Miky away and hopped backwards as a lightning whip smacked the ground where they had just been standing. Tails took out the EMP and spoke quickly, "Miky, in order to activate this, you have to pull this pin here and throw it. That activates the magnet that will allow it to stick to whatever metallic surface it lands on. Duck!"

Both of them rolled under another whip as Miky asked, "Why are you telling _me_ this?!"

"Just listen ok! After the pin is pulled, there is a one minute delay until detonation. There will be an extremely loud pop, bright light and large shockwave. Cover your ears, close your-jump!" Tails and Miky jumped over the lashing whip like a jump rope. "Close your eyes and hit the ground. That'll leave the mech defenseless and ready to tear up. Got it?"

Miky shouted, "Yes, but why?!"

Tails tossed the EMP to Miky as a lightning whip swung towards him, "Because this is how you get your experience!" The whip struck Tails in the gut and he fell to the ground, paralyzed like Sonic and Knuckles. "You can do it Miky! I know you can!" Tails managed to gasp.

* * *

"Well, well, well." said Eggman as he turned the cockpit to face Miky. "Who do we have here?" Miky found herself shaking so badly, she almost dropped the EMP.

When she found her voice, she squeaked, "I'm Miky, the backup."

"HAHAHAHA! The backup?! HAHAHA! Oh that's rich! HAHAHA!"

Miky stomped her foot, "Stop laughing at me! I'm going to use this thing to beat you!"

"Listen you little red-haired rodent, why don't you drop that EMP grenade and I won't vaporize you." said Eggman with a wave of his hand as he leaned casually back in his chair.

"My friends are counting on me and I won't let them down!"

Eggman sat up, "Well than, you leave me no choice but to kill you. And when I'm done with you, Sonic and his infuriating furry friends are next!"

* * *

**Author's Note: I finally finished this chapter! Yay! Miky sure has her work cut out for her! But hopefully she's got what it takes or else everyone's in trouble! I hope this chapter has you on the edge of your seats, glued to your monitors, and wanting more. Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy.**

**P.S. Congratulations to everyone who survived the end of the world. It was a doozy of an apocalypse but we're alive! XD**


	11. Learning To Fly

**Chapter 11**

Eggman cackled, "Let's turn things up a notch!" He turned a dial and the electric whips surged, grew longer, and brighter. Miky's eyes grew wide as she shrunk back. "That's right, COWER! You're looking at over 10 million volts of electricity! One touch will turn you into a crispy raccoon shake and bake! MUHAHAHAHA!" Eggman cracked the whips and they raced at Miky at a frightening pace. She turned on her heels and sprinted. She tripped and was winded by her fall. Miky's ears went up as the crackle of the whips reached her ears. Instinct made her roll just as one them hit ground and scrambled backwards from the second one.

Miky back flipped onto her feet, "Yeesh! Give a girl a chance!"

"A chance?! There's a brilliant chance that you're going to die!" The whips were cracked again and Miky jumped out of their path.

She continued to the dodge the oncoming offenses as she thought to herself; _I can't keep this up forever! I need to get this EMP attached to that robot but how? I can't even get in throwing distance of it! I need to find its weakness… Wait a minute! Sonic told me that one place all of Eggman's robots can't reach is their backs! That's it!_

"Hey Eggman! You couldn't hit me even if I was standing still!" taunted Miky as she stuck out her tongue.

The deranged scientist raved, "ARRGGG! You must have taken annoying lessons from that blasted hedgehog! No matter! Just stand there and I'll show you!" Eggman cracked the whips and they raced toward Miky who stood where she was.

_Wait for it… Don't move… Wait. _The tips of the whips lashed back and began to race forward. _Don't move… stay still… _The whips were inches from Miky's face. _NOW!_ Miky dived downward in a roll and got to her feet in a sprint. The whips tried to follow her but she ran in a serpentine pattern, rolling under the whips. When she neared the Egg-Lasher she slid between its legs and jumped to her feet. She turned on her heels, pulled the pin on the EMP, and chucked it. As it flew through the air as the rotatable torso of the Egg-Lasher began to turn. Time seemed go in slow motion as the EMP traveled and the torso turned. After what seemed like an eternity, the EMP latched onto the back of the Egg-Lasher just as it turned around. "YES! BULLS-EYE!" shouted Miky as she jumped in the air.

The Egg-Lasher turned around as Eggman shouted, "You little rodent! Take this!" Two more slightly smaller whips came from the each of robots fore-arms. "Prepare to die!" Eggman started to rapidly swing the whips creating an orb of electricity around each arm. He came at Miky who jumped back. She tripped on the landing and fell on her side. Eggman swung one of the charged fists down at Miky who managed to just barley crawl out of the way. The other fist came down, narrowly missing Miky and shaking the ground, foiling her attempt to get to her feet. Miky scrambled to and fro in the dirt, desperate to avoid the blows. Her foot became caught in a gnarled root unearthed by the commotion. She tried to yank it free but it only made it worse. Eggman loomed over Miky, "For all that big talk, you're a small threat. An annoying one, but still small. Time to finish this!"

Miky smiled, "If you say so!" She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears. There was a thunderous bang and a huge shockwave from the EMP and the Egg-Lasher powered down with a loud, deep, whirring sound.

"WHAT!? I'VE LOST ALL POWER! WHY YOU LITTLE!" Eggman began to press buttons, pull levers, and rewire things.

Miky freed her foot and stood, "Holy cow! I did it! I did it!"

A familiar voice sounded, "Way to go Miky!"

* * *

Miky turned to see Sonic trying to get to his feet, "Sonic? The paralysis must be wearing off!"

"Ugh… But not fast enough. I can barely get to my knees. You're still going to have to trash that thing."

"What? Me?!"

"Yeah, quickly before Eggman fixes that thing!" Miky turned back toward the Egg-Lasher, determination on her face and burning in her eyes.

_My biggest problem is those darn whips. But I think I got an idea to take care of that!_ "Stay here Sonic. I'm going to break those arms in half!"

Sonic looked surprised, "I thought you didn't have that kind of control of your powers yet."

He received a huge grin in return, "Exactly!" Miky stood in front of the Egg-Lasher and held her hands out before her. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her eyes snapped open as she forced her energy into her hands, causing them to drip a golden glow. She made twisting motion and the left arm of the robot exploded into two pieces. She turned slightly and the right arm shattered into a billion pieces.

"NOOOOOO! MY BEAUTIFUL ROBOT!"screamed Eggman as the control panel of his mech began to spark and go out of control.

"Finish him Miky!" cried Sonic who had recovered enough to get on his feet.

Knuckles was also getting over the paralysis and sat up, "Go for it!"

Miky drew a huge breath, and summoned every scrap of energy she could muster. She lifted what was left of the huge mech off the ground and began to twist it. The two parts of the torso came apart, cockpit and the rest of the mech. With one hand Miky clenched her fist and the bottom of the mech crunched into a ball like a soda can.

With the other hand she flung the cockpit into the sky where it disappeared with Eggman's screams of rage and terror following, "I'LL BE BACK! JUST YOU WAIT AND SEEEEEE!"

* * *

Miky fell back on the seat of her pants, "WHOO! I'm a little lightheaded! How did I do guys?"

Sonic came over and shouted, "How did you do?! You were fantastic! We knew you would do great but that was just straight up awesome!"

"Yeah, totally worth letting myself get paralyzed for a while." added Knuckles before he slapped a hand over his mouth.

Miky appeared puzzled, "What do you mean by that?" after a moment she gasped, "You guys messed up the plan on purpose? That explains what Tails did but why?"

"Because we were helping you get that battle experience you needed." answered Tails who had recovered mostly and came over. "We had to be unable to help you. Like the mother Flicky pushing her baby out of the nest. And I must say, you certainly spread your wings and soared."

"So you guys knew that you could sit this one out and let me handle it? What if I failed?"

Sonic smiled, "We knew you wouldn't. It was a chance we knew that we could take."

"You did pretty well Miky. If Sonic thinks you're ready for it, I'd like to bring you up on Angel Island and start teaching you how to really fight." suggested Knuckles looking to Sonic.

"I can't teach her anything else. I think she's more than ready."

Miky jumped up and down, "Oh my gosh really?! Awesome! I can't wait to start!"

* * *

The next day, Miky was packing what belongings she had into a light green backpack that Sonic had given her. Into the bag went her toothbrush, maps that Tails had given her, and a few bits and bobs that practiced her telekinesis with. Miky opened the journal she had found in the cave and flipped through its worn, faded pages.

Sonic knocked on the door to the attic room and entered at Miky's call, "Hey. Looking through that journal again?"

"Yep. I can't help but think what clues this little book holds about my past. I'm burning with curiosity now but I didn't care before…"

"You didn't care? Why?"

Miky smiled at Sonic, "I guess something else I learned from you is to never look back and look ahead to wait lies in the future."

"But didn't you ever wonder?"

"Sometimes but I guess I've been so busy making awesome new memories with you guys, I didn't mind so much about what I couldn't remember."

Sonic smiled back, "Glad we could make you feel at home. By the way, didn't Tails say he might be able to restore the journal?"

"Oh yeah! I'll drop it off on my way to Knuckles' place. Wanna come with?"

"Do ya even have to ask? Let's go!"

After dropping off the journal, Sonic and Miky headed for Angel Mountain. As they walked, the two chatted.

"I can't wait for Knuckles to start teaching me some moves! Then I'll show that RC robot whose boss!" said Miky excitedly.

Sonic laughed, "I have no doubt! But I'll tell you this, Knuckles is a guy with temper and hates a good practical joke. And I should know! But, he's pretty cool. You'll have a good time and learn a lot."

"Sweet! This'll be great! Not to mention the view from Angel Island is so beautiful. It'll be like an awesome campout!"

Sonic and Miky reached the summit of Angel Mountain to find Knuckles waiting for them, "About time you two got here! I thought I was going to have to come after you."

"Somebody's eager!" commented Sonic with a smirk.

"Well we have a lot of work to do and I'd like to get right down to it."

"I couldn't agree more! When do we start Knuckles?" asked Miky bouncing up and down to the point of her ponytail coming undone.

"Right now. If you'll excuse us Sonic."

Sonic nodded, "Of course. Go easy on her Knux. See ya Miky! Good luck!" Sonic took off in a blast of dust and wind.

"For the last time its KNUCKLES!" shouted Knuckles after him. He turned to Miky, "Now. Follow me, I'll show you where you can put your stuff. Then, it's straight to business."

Miky grinned, "This is gonna be fun!"

As they started to walk Knuckles let out a single loud laugh, "HA! We'll see about that!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Yay the chapter is done! Sorry it took so long, I recently got Pokémon HeartGold and I've just been sucked into it. But, Whitney and her dumb Miltank are being stupid and that helped me to break free. Anyways, I hope this chapter was a good coming out for Miky. I can't wait for the next chapter! Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy!**


	12. Angel Island Boot Camp

**Chapter 12**

Miky was sleeping peacefully on top of the Master Emerald alter in a tent Knuckles had set up for her. She was sprawled out on a mess of blankets and a couple of pillows snoring softly. Knuckles stood beside the tent and listened to her quiet snores.

He chuckled and said, "Wow, she must be really tired. Then again, she had a hard day yesterday. But still, that's no excuse for WAKING UP LATE!" Knuckles kicked one of the pegs of the tent out of the ground so the tent collapsed on Miky.

Miky kicked and struggled under the tent, "AH! WHAT THE HECK! KNUCKLES!" She popped up out of the tent, furious "Knuckles what's the big idea?! I was trying to sleep!"

"Oh my bad, but you wanna know something? When you're on the battle field, the enemy won't wait for you to catch your breath or get in a little catnap! Now get up and pull yourself together! We have work to do!"

Knuckles walked away leaving to Miky struggle out the tent with grumbles of, "I REALLY hate that guy! The sun isn't even fully up yet!"

As Miky got up she couldn't help but think about what a terrible month she was having. Sonic had been kind and supportive teacher but Miky found out on day one that Knuckles was the exact opposite. The way Knuckles saw things, you not only had to dish it out, but you had to be able to take it as well. This meant being tough, really tough. As a result, Miky's days on Angel Island went something like this: Every morning, Knuckles would wake her and they would do some warm up exercises. The red echidna's personal favorite was doing pull-ups on the edges of Angel Island with only the thin, stiff vines hanging off the sides to catch you if you fell. Next would be the combat lesson of the day and afterwards practice fights. Depending on how long that took, Knuckles would help Miky combine her telekinesis with the moves she was learning. Lastly, there was the 'demolitions'. These were a series of trials where Miky had to demolish several materials with just one blow. First was a wood plank which Miky turned it splinters with a kick on her first day. After came a stone block, than a very tall, thick hardwood tree. The tree had Miky frustrated for two weeks before she finally felled it with one punch. But that was yesterday; today after everything else was done, Knuckles took her across the bridge to a spot on Angel Mountain where rock slides happen often.

* * *

"Alright Miky. Today, you're going to demolish that boulder over there in one hit." said Knuckles as he pointed. Miky went over to the boulder, which was four times her size and probably weighed a least over half a ton.

She turned back to Knuckles and glared, "How do you expect me to break this thing in one hit!? It would take me at least ten!"

"That's what you said about the tree. And frankly I'm tired of your whining. It's not like I'm asking you to lift it." Here Knuckles got in Miky's face and spoke in a mocking condescending voice, "Excuse me if I'm just trying to turn a whiny excuse of girl into someone who can hold her own. Or would you like to stay weak and helpless? After all, I never disagree with a girl."

Miky stared him back, anger boiling, "I am not weak and I am not helpless! You want that stupid boulder turned to rubble? FINE! Just watch me!" Miky turned to boulder and looked it up and down, scanning for a good spot to land a blow. She took a step back and exhaled. She pulled her fist back and punched the boulder with all of her might. A loud crack was heard and small chunks went flying from the boulder. "AAAHHH! MY HAND!" screamed Miky as she knelt and clutching her right hand, "Knuckles I think I hurt my hand!" Blood came from Miky's injured hand and was smeared on the boulder.

Knuckles knelt next to her, "Here, let me see." Miky's hand was bleeding and the skin was scrapped away on her knuckles and her fingers were crooked and stiff. "It might be broken. This might hurt a little." Knuckles pressed softly on various spots on Miky's hand each one causing her to scream. "Well it's broken alright. Tails will be able to fix that up, come on."

* * *

The two reached Tails' house and upon hearing what had happened immediately hurried them into the house. Sonic happened to be there and followed as Tails led them to the lab and placed Miky's hand through an x-ray, "Oh man, Miky your hand is an absolute wreck! Your bones are all shoved out of place! We're going to have to set them back in place. This going to hurt so bear with me." Tails took Miky's hand in his and began to violently twist it in several directions making Miky cry out and tears spring to her eyes. When Tails was done, he bandaged up Miky's hand and put a small, light brace on it, "Sorry about that but just keep the brace on and your hand will better in a couple of weeks. But, I wouldn't be slugging anybody with that hand until then."

Sniffing from her tears, Miky said, "Thanks. How did you know what to do?"

"Well I'm no doctor but I know a bit more than basic first aid. When you fight robots all the time, its good stuff to know."

* * *

While all this had been going on, Sonic had pulled Knuckled out of the room and asked, "What the heck Knuckles?!"

Knuckles crossed his arms, "What are you talking about?"

"The boulder test was way out of line; she wasn't ready."

"She punched the hardwood tree clean in half. I've given her the training that would allow her to do it and she failed, plain and simple."

"Her hand is broken Knuckles! I know you're trying to teach her everything she needs to know but you push Miky too hard!"

"Too hard? If you ask me, you were too soft with her! She's in there hollering and whining about a little broken hand like she's gonna die. I'm tough on her because she needs to be able to handle anything. Because I don't know if you noticed but Eggman has been stepping up his game lately."

"I know. But would it kill you to ease up a little? I've seen how you 'teach'. All that shouting, belittling, military style is just ridiculous."

"I do it for a reason. It gets results. When I get in her face and call her weak and useless, she tries twice as hard to prove me wrong. It makes her stronger, tougher, and more capable. Everything's changing Sonic. Eggman isn't something we can laugh at anymore. He's a threat now and we need to act like he can come at us at any time ready to kill."

Sonic was silent a moment before answering, "I see your point. Eggman has been getting serious. I'm sorry Knuckles; I guess I'm set in my ways but your right. Eggman isn't holding anything back and we shouldn't either. Let's go see how Mikys doing."

* * *

They reentered the lab as Tails was telling Miky to keep the brace on. Miky nodded, her eyes red from crying and nose slightly running. She turned to Knuckles, "Tails said I shouldn't use this hand for a couple of weeks. What are we going to do for my training?"

Knuckles replied, "Well… I suppose we could use this opportunity to strengthen your kicking skills but we can start that tomorrow. No sense in banging you up further."

The four spent the rest of the day hanging out at Tails' house talking and discussing various things. When the sun was going down Miky bid everyone good bye saying that she would meet Knuckles back at Angel Island. She walked alone to the Seaside Cliff and found the place empty. The sun was getting close to settling into the water and Miky paced about the cliff, waiting. At last, Shadow appeared in a flash of light.

He hugged Miky and said, "Sorry, things ran late at work. Hey what happened to your hand?"

"Oh this? I broke my hand punching a boulder."

Shadow's ears went up in surprise, "What?! Why on Mobius did you punch a boulder?!"

"Well its part of my training with Knuckles. It's a test and exercise to measure my strength. Before that it was a hardwood tree. And I thought that was hard!"

"What kind of training is that? I should give Knuckles a piece of my mind. Obviously he knows nothing about preparing someone for combat situations." said Shadow as his features creased in concern and slight anger.

Miky frowned too, "Hey, while Knuckles has this whole boot camp style that pisses me off and makes me want to punch him in face, he's a great teacher. I am learning so much and I'm getting stronger. So yeah, his methods are rough, but it works." Shadow looked at her closely; he saw the sincerity in her face and the warning in her eyes.

He put up his hands in surrender, "All right, if you say so. But if I keep seeing you with bandages, I'm going to have to pay Knuckles a little visit. So did you at least break the boulder?"

"No… but I'll tell you this, when my hand is better, it's going to be a pile of pebbles!"

"I have no doubt."

* * *

**Arthur's Note: Yay another chapter done! I am sooo not looking forward to school tomorrow. As a result, I'll be posting less than usual but I'll do my best to stay on top of everyone's' stories and put out a chapter or two. Happy back to school everybody! Please read, review, and most of all enjoy!**


	13. Firery Tempers & Passions

**Chapter 13**

"Fifty… one! Fifty… two! Fifty… three! Fifty… four! Fifty… FIVE!" said Miky as she completed a set of pull ups on Angel Island's edge. She hoisted herself up and stood panting, "Whew! Why do you like doing this again?"

Knuckles crossed his arms, "Because it makes you stronger. And in case you haven't noticed, it has been doing just that."

"What do you mean?"

"A month ago, you could barely do 10 and now look at you! You just did 55 of them! Go wash up in the bathing pool, you stink."

Miky scowled at Knuckles and replied, "What do expect?! I was just exercising!"

"Whatever hurry up and meet me at the bridge when you're done." said Knuckles with a casual wave of his hand as he walked away.

After he left Miky grumbled in a mocking Knuckles imitation, "Bleh bleh you stink bleh bleh." She crossed the island into the small wood that existed in the south. There were many small lakes and rivers that connected and winded across the Angel Island before running off the sides at different points. However, there was a small creek-fed pond in the wood which flowed into a stream that dumped straight off of the island. This and the fact that it was completely enclosed by shrubs and hedges made it an ideal place to get clean after long workout. Miky undressed and slipped in. "BBRRRRR! Why is this pond always so cold?!" she cried with a shiver. After she finished, dried off, and dressed, she hurried off to the bridge.

"There you are! I was starting to think you drowned." remarked Knuckles irritably.

"Whatever. So what we are doing out here?"

"We're going to see a boulder with your name on it. Oh yeah Sonic's meeting us there. He insisted on watching."

Miky gasped, "The boulder again?! Tails just took the brace off four days ago!"

"I know. But your stronger than before, and I'm 75% sure you're going to shatter it this time."

"Thanks for that overwhelming vote of confidence!"

"You're welcome. Now let's go." When the two arrived at the rockslide place, Sonic was already there, napping in the sun on a boulder.

"Hey Sonic!" shouted Miky as she ran up to him.

"Huh? Oh hey! Hope you don't me stopping by."

"Nah, it's cool. Somebody needs to hold me back when I try to kill Knuckles." replied Miky with a glare towards her teacher.

The echidna laughed, "I'd love to see you try. Anyways, Miky, I thought that maybe you would do better if someone showed you how it's done." Knuckles walked up to the boulder Sonic was lounging on, "I'd move if I were you."

Sonic hopped down, "Look out, give Rad Red some space!"

"Grrr…. Would it kill you to call me by my name." growled Knuckles.

"Yes, yes I think it most certainly would." Knuckles growled again and turned to the boulder. He took a deep breath and flexed his fist.

"RAH!" he cried as his fist plowed into the boulder, sending cracks spider webbing along its surface. There was a loud boom as the boulder collapsed on itself into a pile of rubble. "And that's how you demolish a boulder."

Sonic whistled loudly and clapped, "Let's give him a round of applause! You truly are rougher than the rest of them Knux! Tougher than leather! WWHHOOOO! What a show!" Miky fell on the ground clutching her sides, screaming with laughter as Knuckles turned as red as his dreads.

"SHUT THE HELL UP SONIC! AND FOR THE LAST TIME ITS KNUCKLES!" roared Knuckles. "I bet you can't even break one of these boulders!"

The blue hedgehog grinned, "Well, I hate to make you look like an idiot but I'll do it anyway for my brilliant audience." He gestured to Miky and waved, causing her to giggle. Sonic approached another boulder and gave it tap. With an approving nod, he backed up a ways. Sonic took off in a sprint and jumped up. When he was directly over the boulder, he did a flip in mid-air and brought his heel down on the boulder with incredible force in a devastating downward kick. The boulder was forced in half before crumbling. Sonic turned to Knuckles with a huge grin and said, "You know what, I take back what I said earlier. I _love _to make you look like an idiot."

"Showoff. Demonstration time is over, it's your turn Miky." snarled Knuckles as he resisted the urge to punch Sonic's lights out. Miky nodded and went to a third boulder.

* * *

"I can do this. I can do this." mumbled Miky as she popped her knuckles. "YAH!" Miky's fist buried itself in the boulder, but it did not shatter. "WHAT!?" she cried in shock. "Why didn't it break?!"

"It should have, that one is the same size as all of the others." Sonic as he walked around the boulder.

Knuckles shook his head, "You made a nice hole but the goal was to demolish it. After all the training I've given you I expected better from you. But I suppose that's what happens when you put your faith in a weak, helpless little girl."

Miky whirled around, "I am not weak and I am not helpless! I took down the Egg-Lasher didn't I!?"

"A fluke, stroke of luck. Even Tails can beat Eggman by himself. If you want to be of any use to us, you have to be strong!"

"I am strong! And I'm sick and tired of you belittling me! Nothing I do is good enough for you! I don't know what sort of little damsels in distress you're used to but I am not one of them!" shouted Miky, fire raging in her eyes.

"Could have fooled me! That's exactly what I see standing in front of me. You have no place on any battlefield, and you should be ashamed of your weakness!"

"Knuckles, that is uncalled for!" yelled Sonic.

"I'm just telling the truth Sonic. We made a wrong choice with this one. It was just a waste of time."

"SHUT UP!" screamed Miky, her rage threating to boil over, "Your wrong! Everything your saying is WRONG!"

"Then prove it. Go over that last boulder and prove me wrong." challenged Knuckles, his voice low and steady. Miky stormed over to the boulder as Knuckles said to Sonic, "She really is gluten for punishment isn't she? She's just going to fail, maybe even break her darn hand again."

Sonic frowned at him, becoming angry himself, "Knuckles, I think you had better shut your mouth."

"What? I'm just pointing out the inevitable. Miky just doesn't have what it takes to do what we do." Sonic looked at Miky and knew she was hearing every word Knuckles was saying. He looked back at Knuckles to defend her but did a double take. Steam was wafting from Miky's clenched fists and when she reached the boulder, her fists were glowing a smoldering red. "It's really a shame." continued Knuckles "We could always use extra help but we don't need dead weight." Miky's ears flicked in the direction of Knuckles' voice as she stood in front of the boulder. Her fists were enveloped by steam and their glow was bright and hot. "Besides, she was just going to get one of us killed."

"RRRAAHH!" cried Miky, her voice filled with pure rage. As Miky's fist flew at the boulder, it burst into flames. Upon contact, the boulder exploded in a fireball, spraying pebbles everywhere.

* * *

"WHAT THE-!?" shouted Sonic and Knuckles at once in shock.

Miky turned around shouting triumphantly, "YES! What did you think of that Knuckles!? Still think I'm weak!? HUH?!"

"Miky," gasped Sonic, "Your hands are on fire!"

"What are you-AH!" she cried as she lost her anger to surprise. The flames abruptly fizzled out and disappeared.

"How did you do that?! Look your hands aren't even burned!" exclaimed Knuckles.

Miky turned her hands over, "I don't know! I was really really angry and I punched the boulder and POW!" She glared at Knuckles and put her hands on her hips, "Hey don't you have something you need to say to me!?"

Knuckles looked at the smoking pebbles scattered around them. He cleared his throat and said, "You're right I do. Congratulations, you passed the final test."

"Thank you. You owe me a HUGE apology!"

"I have no such thing for you. I never meant a single thing I said to you during your training. I knew all along you had what it takes but I wanted you to put out 200%. That's why I said all of those things, to get you to your highest potential. That's why I won't tell you sorry. Because I'm not sorry for training one of the best dang fighters I've seen."

During this speech Miky had stood there in awe and now she hugged Knuckles tightly, "Oh Knuckles thank you! I'll be honest I thought you hated my guts and I was starting to hate you back!"

"He's not so bad once you get used to him." said Sonic with a chuckle.

"Ha ha. But seriously, what was up with the fire?" asked Knuckles

Hmm, you know what Miky; I bet you have the same power Blaze has. Pyrokinesis." suggested Sonic thoughtfully.

"Who's Blaze?" Miky asked tilting her head to the side.

"A friend of ours. It's a really cool story but the point is that she can make fire appear out nowhere like you did. Don't ask me how it works though, I couldn't tell ya. Hey, let's go tell Tails about your 'flaming' success! He'll be psyched!" With that three took off for Tails' house as Sonic and Miky laughed and Knuckles merely rolled his eyes.

* * *

The next evening, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were preparing Sonic's house for a surprise party to celebrate Miky's completed training. "There!" proclaimed Tails as he put the last streamer, "That's the last of the decorations. Miky is going to be totally blind-sided! Oh yeah Sonic, I finished my research on pyrokinesis."

"What did you find out?" he replied as he put out a bowl of chips.

"From what I found, it appears that Miky's pryokinesis is connected to her emotions. Knuckles got her raving mad and that caused her powers to activate. The madder she gets, the more powerful she gets. I'm sure she could use it anytime like Blaze but it would take _a lot_ of practice on her part because she has to rediscover her limits and get a feel for it. She doesn't like wearing that limiter bracelet I gave her, which I understand, but I would definitely recommend it if she's going to develop this skill. It would prevent a lot of potential accidents."

"Say, speaking of our guest of honor, where is she?" asked Knuckles

Sonic looked at the clock, "Its ten past five so she's probably at the Seaside Cliff."

"It seemed like she's always there around this time." pointed out Tails.

Knuckles scratched his head, "I don't see why."

"Maybe it's because of the sunsets. It's absolutely beautiful in that spot. I'll run over there and bring her back here, be ready." Sonic said as he dashed out the door. He ran toward the Seaside Cliff, the scenery blurring as it went by. When he reached his destination, he skidded to a stop. Sonic was about to step through the undergrowth that separated the Cliff from the Emerald Forest when he heard voices. Wary and curious, he crouched down and moved silently into the bushes, giving him a view of the cliff and concealing his presence. Sonic could barely stifle a gasp of pure shock.

* * *

"I gotta hand it to Knuckles. He knows how to push my buttons but he also knows how to be an awesome teacher." said Miky.

"I'm still trying to believe the fact you have pyrokinesis!" replied Shadow, "It sure explains a few things about your personality though."

"Don't you start or you're toast!" threatened Miky playfully.

Shadow smiled, "You wouldn't dare."

Miky stepped towards him, "Oh yes I would!" She shoved her face into Shadow's, "Don't tempt me."

"Ha! I think I can take… you…" Shadow's voice trailed off as he realized how close together they were.

Not noticing, Miky moved in closer, "Is that so? Well lets-"She stopped midsentence when her nose pressed against Shadow's. She started to pull away, "Oh my gosh, I'm sor-"

"No." interrupted Shadow as he put his hands on Miky's waist and pulled her back, "Don't..." The little air between them felt charged with an unbearable tension. Miky looked deep into Shadow's eyes, she wanted to pull away and end this maddening drumroll feeling but something told her that the drumroll was leading to something special. Curiosity made her stay, even draw a hair closer. They were so close, she could smell Shadow's breath. It smelled faintly of mint with an under lying coffee scent. Shadow drank coffee a lot and often had a tin of mints with him to eliminate coffee breath. The resulting combination was not unpleasant, but fascinating to a sensitive nose.

Miky's face flushed a brilliant scarlet as she said, "Shadow, I think something's wrong with me. I feel all tingly and my stomach had butterflies in it."

"Same here." Shadow replied, his crimson eyes never leaving the depths of Miky's teal ones.

"Maybe we're coming down with something."

Shadow chuckled softly, "You're so clueless. You're supposed to feel that way when someone's about to kiss you." Before Miky could reply, Shadow pulled her in and kissed her deeply. Miky uttered a surprised squeak but she soon found herself wrapping her arms around Shadow and returning his kiss. There was sudden gust of wind, causing them to break apart and look around.

"What was that?" asked Miky.

"Must be a breeze from the ocean." answered Shadow

* * *

Sonic was running wilding through the Emerald Forest, nearly running into trees and tripping on every log in his path. He was in a total state of shock over what he had just seen. "Shadow and Miky together?! I didn't even know Shadow was back on this side of Mobius!" mumbled Sonic to himself as blasted haphazardly through the forest. His train of thought wrecked as he tripped on a falling tree and slammed to the ground. He turned onto his back and lay there panting. When he caught his breathe he said to no one in particular, "This is just bizarre. What's a guy like Shadow doing with a girl like Miky? Something fishy is going on here." Sonic got up and dusted himself off and slowly jogged back to the cliff. On the way he decided, "Ok. Miky must have had her reasons for not telling us so I'm not going to blow this to the rest of the guys. I'll talk to her in private later but for now, we have a party to get to." Several minutes later, Sonic was peeking through the brush again. Miky was alone, sitting on the edge of the cliff. He stepped out, "Hey Miky! Enjoying the view?"

She looked at him with dreamy look in her eyes, "Yeah. I feel sooo happy today Sonic."

"Well you're gonna be even happier, follow me."

"Where?"

"Eh, nowhere special." When they arrived at Sonic's house, Sonic gestured to the door and bowed, "Ladies first Madame." Miky fell into a giggling fit as she opened the door. Inside, everything was dark. "The light switch is on the wall to your right." Miky felt for the switch turned on the lights.

"SURPRISE!" shouted Tails and Knuckles as they jumped from behind the couch.

Miky shrieked in astonishment, "Oh my gosh! You guys threw a party just for me?!"

"Of course!" replied Sonic, "Just our way of saying welcome to the team."

Miky hugged Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in a squeezing group hug, "You guys are the best!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Huzzah for Miky! I knew she could do it! Then again, I know how all of this is going to end, he he. Anyways, I have a feeling Sonic's chat with Miky isn't going to go over well. We just have to wait and see. Until then, please read, review, and most of all enjoy.**


	14. The Coming Storm

**Chapter 14**

It was an extremely overcast day out, any Mobian with sense could feel the rain gathering and preparing to fall. The sun struggled to shine through the clouds as Miky walked along fussing to herself, "Oh come on! I didn't want to open the GPS, I wanted make a call!" Strapped to her wrist was one of Tails' wrist communicators. He had given it to her as a gift during the surprise party the night before. "Oh forget it! Geez, I can't believe I lost the manual too!" muttered Miky as she closed the touch screen cover. She continued walking but she didn't get far before the device began to ring a cheery little tune. Miky stopped and opened it, "Hello? Hello? Dang it how do you answer a call? Hello?"

"Miky? You don't have to push any buttons. You just open it." said Sonic with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Oh, whoops." She replied bashfully.

"You'll get the hang of it, don't worry. So we still on for lunch? I smell a big rain comin'."

"Yeah totally. Foul weather is no reason to cancel; we're not having a picnic. I was trying to call and ask Tails whether it was at your house or his but I couldn't figure out how to dial."

"It's at my place. Oh yeah speaking of Tails, he told me this morning he had hit a breakthrough with an invention and couldn't make it."

"Bummer. Oh well, any ways I'm almost there so I'll see you in a few."

"Alright. See ya."

"… Um Sonic? How do you hang up?"

"Close the cover or hit that red button on the screen next to my name."

"Thanks. See you later!" Miky closed the communicator and continued on her way.

* * *

Sonic nervously walked back in and forth in his home, setting a plate of chili-dogs on the coffee table in the living room. Next to it went a bowl of chips, a pitcher of lemonade, and two glasses. He stepped back and looked at the spread. He hated lying to Miky about Tails and was not looking forward to the conversation he wanted to have. "Hey, at least we can have a nice lunch first." Sonic said to himself. Sonic than went to the bathroom to brush his quills, he could swear one or two felt out of place.

Sonic exited the bathroom at the chime of his doorbell and a knock. "Coming!" He answered the door to find no one there. "Huh? I know I heard-"

"BOO!" cried Miky as she hung upside down in the doorway.

"AH! What the-? Miky how are you doing that?"

Miky flipped down and landed on her feet, "I found that I have these tiny little claws that let me climb almost anything! And I do mean anything! I can get up a tree in seconds! Pretty cool huh?"

"I'll say! Let's get inside; the clouds are gonna open up any time now." After talking and laughing over lunch, Sonic and Miky began to clean up. Outside the clouds were growing dark and tall. Sonic's ear twitched as it picked up a rumble off thunder off in the distance. He swallowed nervously as he scrubbed at a dish and handed it to Miky for drying. It was bad enough that the conversation he was about to start was going to be rough but the weather seemed to be drum rolling the ordeal like a cheesy movie. Sonic cleared his throat as he handed the last dish to Miky and began to put the dry ones away, "Uh Miky? I gotta talk to you about something. Something serious."

She turned to him with one ear perked and the other slanted casually in curiosity and confusion, "Something serious? What is it?"

"Just let me say this first, it was a complete accident. It wasn't on purpose."

"What do you mean?" Fear flashed in her eyes before calm washed it over.

"I… saw you kiss Shadow." Sonic cast his eyes away and down.

Miky looked away as well, her cheeks blushing a faint red, "Wh-wh-what are talking about?"

"I saw you kiss Shadow on the Seaside Cliff. I swear I wasn't spying on you. I knew you would be there at that time of day, I didn't know why, you just go there all the time. I went to get you for the party."

"Ok… "Miky was fiddling with her ponytail nervously, causing it to come undone.

She hurriedly began to put it back up as Sonic said, "Miky, I don't think that this is a good idea. You and Shadow, I mean."

Miky flinched as if she had been struck, "What?!"

Sonic sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I just don't think he's… right for you. Shadows… shady and untrustworthy."

"How dare you!" shouted Miky, her temper flaring, "Shadow is the exact opposite of those things! I trust him with my life! How could you say such things?!"

"I've known him way longer than you have. I've seen what kinda guy he is and what lengths he's willing to go to in order to further his goals. He's the most self-centered person I've ever meet and he wouldn't lift a finger to help anybody unless it would benefit him somehow. I would never lie to you Miky, so just trust me when I say these things."

"You may not be lying but it sure sounds like you're exaggerating!"

Sonic was unable to speak for a moment as he stuttered in frustration, "E-e-exaggerating?! He tried to KILL a friend of ours! KILL! Shadow is cold, cruel, and calculating. I can't imagine what he could possibly have to gain from being with you but he has an agenda and nothing will stop him from sticking to it!"

Tears of rage were spilling down Miky's face as she shouted, "That's not true! He cares about me and I care about him! He might have been like that in the past but he's not like that now! So just, just, SHUT UP!"

The blue hedgehog's own anger was beginning to rise as he slammed his fist down on the counter, "Dang it Miky will you listen to me?! I'm trying to warn you and keep you from getting hurt physically and/or emotionally!"

"I don't need you protecting me! That's all you've done since I meet you! You, you treat me like a child! I can take care of myself and make my own decisions! So just stop it!"

"I'm just trying to be a good friend!"

"A good friend wouldn't be trying to babysit me all the time! And a half decent friend would at least give him a chance! From what I can tell, you don't fall into either category." retorted Miky as she crossed her arms and turned away. A look of hurt flooded Sonic's face.

"You're right. I'm not either of those things." replied Sonic in a low, sad voice, "I'm sorry for caring so much. I won't from now on." With that, he turned and left the room. He stood in the hallway leaning against the wall. He scarcely blinked as Miky slammed the front door behind her, causing the whole house to shake. A huge rumble of thunder followed as Sonic rested his face in his hand and mumbled, "What have I done? Chaos help me…"

* * *

Miky was storming away from Sonic's house trying to get a handle on her anger. Her fists had begun to smolder and glow. Every time she had started to calm down, the argument popped into her head and angered her all over again. She stopped to try and gather her thoughts together. She took a look around and found that she had wandered into the Emerald Forest, more specifically, the sandy clearing where she had first met the guys. She remembered Sonic's wink and thumbs up as he extended the offer of friendship. This made Miky fume uncontrollably, her hands hot with sparks starting to fly from them. She could feel the fire inside about to burst to the surface. Miky quickly dug the limiter bracelet from her pocket and clasped it round her wrist. It lit up and flashed. Miky yelped as the bracelet absorbed some of her energy and shoved the rest back inside. Miky plopped onto the ground and took a deep breath. Her hands were only smoking now as she began to calm herself down.

The clouds in the sky were darkening even more and piling themselves into tall, foreboding towers. Lightning occasionally lit up the inside of these towers followed by booms of thunder. It appeared that the clouds were amassing themselves into castles to do battle with cannons on the ramparts. Miky met up with Shadow on a grassy hill with a large, formidable oak tree. Shadow instantly saw something was wrong and asked, "Hey are you ok?"

"Sonic knows about us." She replied, "And he said that I shouldn't be with you."

"Are you serious?! Sonic and I certainly are not on good terms but that is ridiculous!" exclaimed Shadow as he put his hands on his hips.

Miky paused and after a moment she said cautiously, "Sonic said that you've done some pretty bad things in the past. Is that true?"

The black hedgehog looked at her long and hard before answering, "I won't lie to you, I've done a few dirty deeds before."

"Like what?" she asked slowly.

Shadow turned away, "I'd rather not go into detail. I was desperate to get information about my past and willing to do anything to get it. It led me to do a few bad things."

Miky stared at him, "Like trying to kill a friend of Sonic and the others?"

He whirled around, "Who told you that?"

Miky looked him steady in the eyes, "Sonic. Did you really try to kill someone?" Shadow held her gaze but did not reply. "Answer me!" Miky practically screamed. When Sonic had told her this tidbit before, her anger had kept her from fully realizing what that meant but now that she had had time to think about it, it terrified her. "Sonic would never lie to me but I want to hear you say it!"

"It's true." admitted Shadow. Miky gasped and took a huge step back from him. "Wait! I had a reason; it wasn't out of cold blood!"

"What possible reason justifies killing somebody!?"

"This girl Cosmo was spy for our enemies at the time, it was essential to remove her in order for us to be safe and make progress in our battle against them."

"That's no excuse! Kick her out or something but you don't kill someone! I can't believe this!"

"Miky all of those things happened years ago! Why does it matter? I've changed; I'm not that kind of guy anymore! Are you really going to let Sonic come between us? Because that's what he wants. He wants to tear us apart."

"Shadow, I just don't know how to handle this. You tried to kill someone, I can't just overlook that. I'm sorry but I need to think about this…" Miky backed away some more as she spoke before turning and running off.

"MIKY! WAIT!" shouted Shadow after her. But she was gone. The cloud castles opened fire as lightning shot across the sky and thunder could be heard for miles. Shadow drove his fist into the oak tree and growled, "Curse you Sonic! Why are you trying to ruin this!?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh jeez, looks like there's a storm brewing! This is not going to end well. I'll try and get the next chapter up before the weekend is over. Just a little announcement, 'Christmas At Tails & Cosmo's' is going to be moved to Werehog20's page for everyone's convenience. But, also Werehog20 and I are starting a little something on the side that peeks into the daily lives of Mobius's most dysfunctional family. I hope this story is keeping you on your toes on and staying exciting. Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy. **


	15. Journey To the Wastelands

**Chapter 15**

Knuckles was standing irritably at Sonic's front door, rapping on it. "Rrrgh… That hedgehog complains about other people's slowness but it takes him more than five minutes to answer his freaking door!" The echidna loosed another angry growl and began to bang on the door so hard it was starting to shake on its hinges.

A minute later a shout sounded, "Coming! Jeez just kick my door in will ya!?" Sonic opened the door and ducked under Knuckles still knocking fist. Around his neck was a pair of headphones in his hand he was twirling a duster. The blue blur rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe and said, "Is there something you need Knux? I'm kinda busy."

"With what?! It took you forever to answer the dang door!"

Sonic pointed to his headphones, "Hello, blasting tunes here. As for what I was doing, I'ma hedgehog who likes a clean house. And you didn't have to practically smash my front door, its open."

Knuckles entered Sonic's living room, "You leave your door unlocked?"

Sonic shrugged, "It's the Green Hill Zone, round here it's like, 'Crime? What's that?' Now seriously, what's up?"

"I wanted to ask you if you've heard from Miky lately. I haven't seen her around on Angel Island for two days."

"What!? Have you looked for her or tried calling her? Why didn't you say something when she didn't show up on the first night?!" exclaimed Sonic

Knuckles scoffed, "I'm not her babysitter! Besides, I've trained her well and she can take care of herself. I just figured she went off exploring and spent the night in a tree. When she didn't come back last night, that's when I got a little concerned. If Miky was planning on being gone longer she would have called."

Sonic started to dial on his communicator, "Well than let's call _her_."

"Already tried. Lines dead." To back Knuckles up, Sonic's wrist device beeped and ended the call.

"Something's fishy here."

"I agree." said a familiar voice. Sonic and Knuckles looked to see Shadow standing in the doorway of Sonic's home. The two tensed and half shifted into a fighting stance.

* * *

"What do _you_ want?" demanded Knuckles as he cracked his namesakes impossibly loud.

"Yeah you're not exactly welcome here, Faker." added Sonic, his eyes hostile emeralds glinting challengingly.

Shadow put up his hands, "I don't want trouble. I wouldn't even come here if I had a choice but I don't. I have reason to believe that something bad happened to Miky."

Knuckles arched an eye ridge, "Why would you care about Miky? And how do you even know her?"

"We met at the Seaside Cliff." Here Shadow hesitated before adding, "You could say we're emotionally involved."

"Wait, you and Miky are a couple?! That's ridiculous!"

"It's true Knuckles." replied Sonic, "I saw them together by accident. So what do you think happened to Miky? And why do you need our help?"

Shadow produced a plastic bag and tossed it at Sonic, "Here's some evidence I found in the northern outskirts of the Emerald Forest." Sonic and Knuckles quickly went through the bag which contained a lock of fire-colored hair, a small sample tube of what appeared to be dried blood, and a torn piece of light green fabric. "From what I could tell, it appears someone snatched her. She fought like hell though. I need you help because I figured you guys would know some way to find her."

"But who took her and why?" questioned Knuckles.

"I don't know. The grass was torn from the ground and a few trees were uprooted, some even snapped in half. It looked like a pretty intense fight; any other clues would have been destroyed."

After thinking for a moment Sonic replied, "We'll go to Tails. He can help us out. Come on."

"Allow me. CHAOS CONTROL!"

* * *

Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles promptly appeared inside of Tails' lab, startling the young fox, "What the-?! Sonic, Knuckles what's going on?" As soon as the kitsune spotted the block hedgehog, he regarded him with surprise, "Shadow, what are _you_ doing here? Sonic this must be good if you're bringing _him_ in here."

Sonic replied, "Unfortunately little bro, we got ourselves a problem. Miky's AWOL and from the look of things, she's been snatched. Any ideas?"

"Finding her is easy. All of my communicators continuously emit an encrypted signal that only I can track. We find the communicator, we find Miky. But that still doesn't tell me why Shadow's here."

"He's here to help look for his girlfriend." said Knuckles, making sure to empathize to the last word earning a glare from Shadow and confusion from Tails.

In response to Tails' inquiring look, Sonic quickly said, "It's a long story. Let's track that signal and find Miky." With a nod Tails sat down at his supercomputer. With the press of a few keys, a globe came on-screen.

"Ok, this is Mobius. Just to narrow down where Miky was taken, we'll scan on a global scale first." explained Tails as he hit a key. Four red pings appeared on the western continent alone. "Just as I suspected, she's still in this hemisphere. Zooming in." Tails hit two more keys and the area from Angel Island to the southern-most reaches of the Emerald Forest was shown. In the south-west portion of the Forest, there were three red pings. "Alright those three signals are us but I'm not seeing hers."

"Try scrolling up. There appeared to be a ping in the north before you zoomed in." suggested Shadow. Tails did so and the fourth ping presented itself past Red Mountain and its smaller neighbors. "There! It's in the Mystic Jungle."

Knuckles shook his head, "That's too far North to be in the Mystic Jungle."

"But there's nothing past that. It's all desert and wastelands out there." pointed out Sonic.

"There's only one way to find out. We'll take the Tornado, let's go!" said Tails as the four of them rushed to the garage. In no time at all they were in the air rapidly approaching the location of the ping. They landed near-by and got out.

* * *

The four were standing in the middle of a wasteland, the ground muddy and swampy in some places with a few dead trees scattered about. The soil was incredibly dry and loose, good for quicksand if one was around the swamps. Occasionally, you might come across ruins of what appeared to be villages and towns but most had either sunken into the treacherous ground or blown away by the raging sandstorms from the deserts surrounding the horrible place.

Sonic coughed as the thick, dirty air irritated his lungs, "Ugh I hate this place."

Tails turned in a circle amazed at the sorry state of the land, "I've never been here before. How did this place get this way?"

"This place used to be inhabited at one point." explained Shadow as he too let loose a raspy cough.

"I can't imagine anyone who would want to live in these conditions." said Knuckles as he kicked up some dirt.

Sonic looked out at the rotting expanse and sighed, "It wasn't always this way. All of this used to be lush and green, Mobians lived here and things were happy. You've been here before Tails; you were really young though so you probably don't remember."

Tails thought hard until his face lit up, "Knothole Village! Now I remember! Aunt Sally, Antoine, Rooter, Bunnie, we all lived around here!" He looked around and his smile faded, "But what happened to it?"

"We may have removed Eggman's grip on Mobius but all of the pollution here from his blasted factories took its toll. When all of the plants started dying, everyone packed up and moved out. Everything fell apart and the land just never recovered. The old gang just split up and their separate ways. As far as I know, Tails and I were the only ones to stick together.

"Geez…" mumbled Knuckles as he tried to picture the dead landscape full of life.

* * *

"I hate to interrupt but look over here!" shouted Shadow who was a little ways away on a small hill. Everybody ran to join him at the top. "There." Shadow pointed down into a muddy pit, "I think that's the communicator." Sticking just barely out of the mud was the green wrist device with a red light blinking on it almost as if in distress.

Knuckles began to lower himself down, "Well let's get it before it sinks."

Sonic held him back, "Wait, one step down there, and you'll be in the same pickle. Tails think you can grab it?" Tails flew over the pit and snatched up the wrist device. He inspected it and turned off the signal.

"That's a little disappointing, I was sure we would find Miky too. Unless…?" as Tails spoke all eyes gravitated towards the mud pit.

Shadow looked up and breathed a sigh that was half relief and half disbelief, "Hey, I think I know where she really is. There lights off in the distance." Everyone else looked as well and sure enough there was large lights shining in the distance. They climbed another ridge and were met with a startling sight.

"Well I'll be darned!" exclaimed Sonic. Sitting in a valley was a large facility almost completely lit up with lights. On the roof of the huge complex in lights was Eggman's hideous symbol.

"The guy obviously has no idea of the meaning of the word subtle." commented Knuckles.

"I didn't know that Eggman had a base here!" mused Tails.

Shadow looked down into the valley, "Miky's in there. There's no doubt."

"Then let's get in and get her out!" said Sonic as he led the others down towards the base.

* * *

**Author's Note: Go team! I wonder how Miky is doing? That's what Chapter 16 is for! I can't believe this story has more chapters than Lost Past, New Friends! I've broken my record, Yay! In any case, stay tuned cause there's plenty more to come! Please read, review, and most of all enjoy. **


	16. Long Awaited Revenge

**Chapter 16**

"N-n-no…. g-get back…" mumbled Miky as she tossed and turned. "STAY AWAY!" she suddenly shouted as she bolted upright. Her heart was pounding in her chest and everything was a blur. She let herself fall back again as dizziness assaulted her. Miky felt numb all over her body as she tried to catch her breath. Miky squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. She was staring at a gray ceiling. Things were regaining their detail at last as Miky could make out the rough surface of the ceiling. Her body was regaining sensation as well for she could feel her back being poked and scratched by whatever she was laying on. Miky held up a handful to see it was coarse straw. She froze as a clinking reached her ears, round her wrists were thick metal shackles. She raised herself and leaned against the wall. "What is going on?!" she whispered to herself as she took in her prison. It was slightly spacious, no bigger than a snug living room. The entire front wall of the cell was bars.

* * *

"Ho Ho Ho! So, you're finally awake. I was beginning to think I had accidently killed you with that blow to the head during our little tussle." said Eggman as he stepped into view.

"You only got that hit in because you played dirty and ambushed me! Eggman, you better let me out of here right now or else I'll tear this place down!" growled Miky as she strained against the shackles and their short chains.

Eggman frowned menacingly, the light shining off his glasses, "You not going anywhere."

"We'll see about that!" Miky drew up her energy; it came to her easy now. Her hands began to get that tell-tale glow as she prepared to blow the shackles off her wrists. Suddenly, Miky could feel her energy being sucked from her at a rapid pace until she fell to her knees from weakness. All at once the energy came rushing back to her like a massive shockwave blow that made her cry out and fall to the ground.

She lay there stunned, struggling to catch her breath as Eggman smugly said, "How do you like your restraints? Their designed to take your energy and reflects it back at five times the original strength. I brought you here for a reason. You're going to answer my questions or your stay here will be a miserable one."

Miky managed to raise her head, "What?! You brought me here just to quiz me!?"

"Just answer my questions you little rodent! Now, who are you and why have you come here?"

"I thought I introduced myself when I kicked your butt a few months back. My name is Miky!"

"Fine but what are you doing here?"

"I don't know! I don't even remember coming here! My mind is a blank slate. I don't know what information you want from me but I don't have it. Why do you care anyways?"

Eggman was silent before answering with spite and venom in his voice, "Because you're helping that nasty little pincushion of a hedgehog! He has been a thorn in my side for years; I don't need you making things more complicated. If it wasn't for you, I would have defeated Sonic with the Egg-Lasher!"

"Sonic and the others got hit on purpose! They were letting me get battle experience. You didn't even come close to beating them!"

"He did what!? ARRRGGHH! I hate that hedgehog! I loathe him! Curse that low-down, filthy rat!"

Miky had managed to recover enough to sit up, "Sonic is the nicest guy on the face of the planet. What did he ever do to you to make you hate him so much?"

* * *

The scientist's face twisted with anger as he tried to contain his temper, "I used to rule this sorry-little planet. I had a mighty empire that controlled everything with the exception of a few small pockets of resistance. One of those pockets used to be right around here. 'Freedom Fighters', ugh! I would have crushed them in a matter of months if Sonic hadn't joined them. In less than five years he and his little ragtag group of urchins had destroyed my beautiful dynasty! All of my work, GONE! Ever since, any attempts to rebuild my grand kingdom has been thwarted by that miserable hedgehog! But I've had enough! I will have my revenge on Sonic and the Eggman Empire will rise again! I will not have any more obstacles, and you are an enormous obstacle that must be removed be you cause too much trouble!"

Miky backed against the wall, ears flattened to her head and tail puffed to twice its normal size, "What are you going to do to me?!"

"Hmmm… I could just kill you." Miky tensed and her fur stood on end. "But perhaps you might be useful in exacting my revenge…"

A fire sparked in her eyes as Miky suddenly rushed forward as far as her chains would allow and screamed, "NO! I won't help you hurt Sonic! You can forget it!"

Eggman turned and began to walk away, "Hoho I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow were standing outside of Eggman's base. Sonic turned to Shadow and said, "Thanks for the help Shadow, but we can take it from here."

The black hedgehog was taken aback, "What?! You're kidding me right? I did not come all this way to sit on the sidelines! I'm going in there with you."

"We got this! We don't need your help to rescue her!"

"Why are you doing this!? Do you not trust me!?" Shadow asked incredulously

Sonic hesitated for split second before shouting back, "Frankly, no I don't! After what's gone on in the past and what's going on now, I just can't put my faith in you."

"Sonic, all of that happened years ago! I've changed! I know that some of my actions in the past were wrong and I've turned things around! I work for G.U.N. now as an officer/agent. My experience will be useful in this situation!"

Tails jumped between the hedgehogs, "Stop fighting! We have to focus on getting Miky back!"

Knuckles agreed, "You two can hash this out later if you want but we need to keep our heads in the game."

"Shadow, if you don't want to leave, fine, but you're not coming with us inside. You'll only slow us down." said Sonic coldly

Shadow immediately became angry, "How dare you! I would be of nothing but help to you in there. Miky is in there, and I care for her very much. That is why I am here risking my life and putting up with your crap! That should be proof enough of my sincerity!" Sonic looked at him long and hard, then at Tails and Knuckles who nodded.

At last the azure hedgehog sighed and replied, "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to make sure this thing goes right and limit the chances of someone getting hurt."

"I understand, but I think that if I accompany you things will go smoother and we have a higher chance of success."

Sonic nodded, "Let's agree to work together on this. No fighting. Now let's get our friend back. Knux, would you be a gentleman and get the door?"

The red echidna growled, "Sonic if you call me 'Knux' one more time, I'll bust your skull open! GRAH!" With one punch, the steel door was sent flying into the base which appeared dark inside.

"This has 'trap' written all over it. I'd bet my tails that Miky is in there and she's in some sort of time sensitive, life-threating danger. Than Eggman will just come at us with a big robot counting on Miky's distress to throw us off our game. Bit of a cliché plan if you ask me." pointed out Tails.

"We'll have to be on our guard and ready for anything. Sonic, if you guys keep Eggman busy, I can use my Chaos Control to grab Miky. Then I can teleport all of us out of there." suggested Shadow

"Sounds like a plan." Sonic agreed, "Let's go!"

* * *

The four entered the darkened base, tense, on edge, senses straining to detect danger in the darkness. The lights suddenly came on in a flash and they found themselves surrounded by an assorted army of Egg Fighters with shields, chainsaw-like swords, missile launchers, and blasters. "MUHAHAHAHA! Welcome to your doom!" cackled Eggman as he came into view in a huge mech toting a flamethrower on one arm and a machine gun in the other.

"What have you done with Miky, Eggman?" Sonic demanded as he stood tall in front of the formidable mech that was easily five or six times his size.

"Oh she's alive, for now. Ho ho!"

"If you've laid a hand on her, so help me Chaos, your life is going to come to a slow and painful end!" threatened Shadow as he stood beside Sonic.

The mad scientist chuckled to himself as if he remembered a good joke, "Hoho, don't worry. She's _hanging _around! Ho ho ho ho!" With those words he pointed up to an area behind the rescue party. Sure enough, Miky was hanging unconscious from a conveyor belt by her energy reflecting shackles. Eggman pushed a button in his mech and the belt began to slowly move towards a huge pot of molten metal.

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh boy, looks like Tails was right. But, will Eggman's cliché plan actually work? I guess I should up and type the next chapter so you guys can find out! Also just a few little heads ups: 1) From now on, all funny holiday one-shots with Werehog20 will be posted on his page in one convenient bundle. 2) On my page, sooner or later, there will be a mini-version of the series that focuses on the mixed up individuals that make up Mobius' most dysfunctional family and their daily lives. (this will also be worked on with Werehog but we have no idea when we'll be able to do it) 3) I have a poll on my profile asking which of my story ideas should I work on and post along with Homefront Adventures. If you can spare the time, please stop by and vote. Please read, review, and most of all enjoy. **


	17. Brawling With Eggman, Robots, and?

**Chapter 17**

"I knew it!" shouted Tails, "Geez I hate it when I'm right sometimes. Shadow you have to get up there!"

Shadow whipped out his red Chaos Emerald, "CHAOS CONTROL!" In a flash of light he was gone. He reappeared balancing on the thin conveyor above Miky. He carefully reached down and pulled on where the chains were attached. However, they were locked in a quick release clamp. Before Shadow could go to work on the clamp, the sound of missiles reached his ears and instinct made him leap from the conveyor belt and land on a smaller piece of machinery to the left.

Sure enough, two of the deadly projectiles tore through the air where he just was. But much to Shadow's surprise, they came around and were rocketing straight towards him. Shadow waited a split second before jumping to the ground, causing one missile to crash but the other made the dive and continued its pursuit. Shadow took off towards the robot army that Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were fighting off, "Sonic, I got a little present for you!"

Sonic homing attacked several Egg Fighters at once and used the hang time to spy Shadow and the oncoming threat, "Heh! You could have at least put a bow on it!" Sonic landed and raced in front of Shadow who screeched to a halt. The missile fell for it and chased Sonic who ran at Eggman's robot, "I believe this is yours!"

"Back off hedgehog!" shouted Eggman as he set off his flamethrower, creating a wall of flame. Sonic narrowly slid under it and the missile collided with it, exploding. Shadow tried once more to make it back up to the conveyor but multiple missiles and floating Aero-Cannons impeded his progress and were so numerous, that even using both his pistol and Chaos Spears did little to help. On the ground, the sheer number of robots and being under fire from Eggman's robot were creating a hairy situation that was spiraling out of control.

* * *

As the gang and Shadow were fighting to gain some sort of edge, Miky had begun to come to, "Ugh… where am I?" She gave a small squeak upon realizing she was dangling above a raging battlefield. Looking to the sides of her, Miky saw big, caldron like buckets hanging from the same conveyor she was. Down the line, the clamps holding the buckets would release, causing them to flip over and dump their contents into a huge pot full of bubbling molten metal. Miky began to violently swing and yank at her shackles and chains to no effect. "Dang it!" she yelled in frustration, "My telekinesis could get me out of this! Wait! That's it! The shackles!"

Miky drew up her energy and almost immediately, the shackles began to drain it. She put forth even more and still her restrains sucked it up. With a mental push, Miky forced almost all of her energy to the surface to be absorbed by the shackles, causing the bounds to actually begin to spark from the massive load. Miky braced herself for the coming shockwave. The feedback was tremendously powerful causing Miky to scream as five times the energy she offered up rushed back to her in a raging tidal wave. The blast was so powerful that the shackles could not contain it and it spilled over, lacing up and down her body and rattling the chains. Her teeth gritted in pain, Miky looked up to see the chains shaking and threatening to shatter but still whole. The vat of molten pot was so close she could feel its steam already heating her feet. "COME ON!" Miky shouted as she pushed more energy up. The shackles sucked it up and belched it out, at last causing the chains to snap, loosing her from the conveyor just in time. She landed on the edge of the giant pot on her feet but swaying, on the verge of passing out. Feeling the heat sear her fur brought Miky back enough energy to leap onto another platform. With another jump she swung off a bar and landed on her knees before collapsing on her side, near unconscious.

Drawing on a last reserve of strength, Miky was able to roll onto her back in time to see several Aero-Cannons float into position to blast her, barrels glowing with the deadly laser blasts inside. They fired as a rush of black, red, and light swooped over Miky. When the smoke cleared, Shadow was standing over her, a Chaos Spear poised in both hands. "Miky are you alright?" he asked turning to her.

* * *

"Yeah, thanks for the save. What in the world is going on!? It's a flipping war zone down there!" she replied as Shadow helped her to her feet.

"Let's just say Eggman is done taking crap. We need to get you out of here." More Aero-Cannons were rapidly approaching their position as Shadow flashed the red Emerald, "CHAOS CONTROL!" With flicker of light, they both disappeared. The robots stopped and flew in a new direction. They had formed a circle just as Shadow and Miky reappeared smack in the middle.

"Shadow!" cried Miky as lasers began to go off. In a blink, the two were gone again but the floating shooters met them again. No matter where they teleported, the Aero-Cannons were right there, guns primed to blast them.

"This is impossible! How can they know where we're going to appear?!" said Shadow in frustration as another attempt to get some distance from the enemy failed and he and Miky were backed into a corner on a high ledge.

"Impressive no?" said Eggman with a stroke of his mustache. The madman was reclining in his mech as the autopilot was giving Sonic a run for his money, "All of them are equipped with highly sensitive Chaos Energy sensing technology. Every time you warp, you create energy spikes for my lovely little Cannons to track. So resistance is futile! DESTROY THEM!"

Shadow whipped around to Miky, "If you stay here and out of sight, you'll be safe."

"But w-wait! Where are you going?!" she protested as she squeezed his hand.

The black hedgehog slipped out of her grasp, "I'm going to take care of these annoying pests and I need full maneuverability. Just stay here. CHAOS CONTROL!" Almost as soon as he had warped, the Aero-Cannons left, chasing the signal.

* * *

Miky looked down to see the battle below was still going on. There were robots everywhere but it appeared the numbers were thinning out. She could almost see through the haze of smoke and laser blasts and glimpse Tails or Knuckles occasionally as they fought to keep the smaller bots at bay. Miky looked up to see brief flashes as Shadow teleported amongst the conveyors and machinery, demolishing waves of air-borne enemies. An enormous explosion rocked the base and brought her attention back to ground level. There was a frustrated shout of, "NOOOO! THE FLAMETHROWER TANK HAS OVERHEATED!"

In response was familiar, if not weary sounding, voice, "That's what you get for putting that thing in auto-pilot! At least have the guts to take me on yourself!"

"ARRGH! FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!" The thunderous rattle of a machine gun began while being accompanied by the musical jingle of spent shells. Miky rushed to the edge of her platform to see Sonic tear from the obscured battlefield as a blue streak with bullets chasing his heels.

"Tails, Knuckles! I could use a little help here!"

* * *

Miky took a running leap from her ledge and grabbed a hanging chain, "Hang tight Sonic!" She swung over and landed on top of a metal pressing machine in operation. She ducked under the massive anvils crushing the metal into shape and jumped down on a huge coolant pipe. She stood looking for a way to get on the ground, being too high to simply drop. At this point the robots on the ground had taken notice of her and had started to fire missiles. She avoided the first speed seeking missiles with a few easy flips and the as the second set approached, Miky got an idea. "I must be outta my mind, but here goes nothin'!" Miky latched onto one of the oncoming projectiles. It flew wildly before Miky's weight caused it to descend. Letting go, she hit the ground in a harmless tuck-n-roll and the missile destroyed a by standing robot. With a quick glance around, she spotted her cerulean friend, "Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog was cornered against a boiler with Eggman's mech blocking his escape. The massive machine gun was practically pressed to his forehead. "Give up hedgehog! You so much as move and either you get turned to Swiss cheese or incinerated by the boiler explosion!" Eggman gloated, his voice almost trembling at the aspect that he might actually win against his longtime nemesis.

Sonic's features were creased in a defiant frown, "I'll never surrender to you!"

"Leave him alone! AHH!" Miky had tried to use her telekinesis to rip the machine gun from the mech's torso but much to her surprise, the shackles, which had not broken with the chain, threw the attempt back at her. Sonic took advantage of the distraction to slide under the mech. But Eggman was quick on the draw as well and fired. The boiler blew, spewing flames and razor shrapnel. Sonic tackled Miky to the side, shielding her from the blast. When the two stood, the mech had turned round, its hull on fire, glass cockpit cracked, and machine gun raised.

"You're going to get it now Eggman!" shouted Sonic as he took up a battle stance.

Eggman cackled manically, "Oh ho ho ho! It's you whose about to get it! Ha!" With that he pressed a button on his dashboard. Suddenly Miky swung her fist around and slammed it to Sonic's face, sending him flying.

When he had got to his feet, holding his cheek, Sonic managed to yell, "Miky, what was gotten into you!?"

Miky shook her rapidly in disbelief, "I-I-I don't why I did that! I'm so sor-WAH!" Miky lunged forward, her feet in a blur of kicks.

Sonic leapt backwards, flipping and dodging, "MIKY STOP!"

"I CAN'T! I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!" she cried in response. Miky switched from kicking to punching and her attack became more vicious. Tails, Knuckles and Shadow had at last defeated the rest of the smaller robots and ran over to see what the commotion was about.

* * *

"Sonic! What's happening?" shouted Tails

Knuckles added, "Why is Eggman just sitting there? Did you beat him?"

"Miky what in Chaos are you doing!?" exclaimed Shadow

"MUHAHAHA!" laughed Eggman, "You three are just in time for the show! Ho ho ho ho!"

"What did you do to me!?"demanded Miky as she stopped moving. When she attempted to move of her own will, she found herself unable.

Eggman cackled again before saying, "Those shackles around your wrists don't just reflect your energy back upon you, they a second genius purpose! By utilizing motor neuron overrides, I've made you into my puppet! I was going put you under mind control of some sort but it's too easily undone. Besides, this far more entertaining."

Sonic opened his mouth to fire a response but Shadow beat him to it, "You're going to pay for this you lousy crack scientist!"

"Ho ho ho ho! You'll have to get through HER first!" Miky took a fighting stance.

She shouted over her shoulder, "You're a monster!"

"GO! Exact my revenge!"

Miky lunged forward at Sonic, Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles, ready to attack…

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long everyone. I've been trying to finish this chapter for weeks but I just never had time till today. Thank goodness for lazy Sundays! I know Werehog20 and I should have had the Mardi Gras and Valentine one shots up forever ago but it's so hard to get the time we need to work on it. Mardi Gras is about halfway done. If it's not done by next weekend, it should be done during the week after that (Spring Break) and hopefully we can also knock out the Valentines one and at least start on Saint Patties. But we might save that for next year like New Years. Anyways, we beg you to be patient because there's plenty of chaos in store. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and its little twist. **

**Please read, review, and most of all enjoy. **


	18. Puppet Show

**Chapter 18**

As Miky came at them, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow quickly scattered, avoiding her first attack. She whipped around in a roundhouse kick which struck Knuckles square in the chest, sending him flying. "I'm sorry Knuckles!" cried Miky as her body swerved around to punch Tails. The nimble fox was able to get out of the way with a spin of his namesakes.

She came at Sonic next who yelled, "I need some options here Tails! What do we do?!"

"Maybe if we can pin her, I can pick the lock on the shackles!" the fox responded.

"Alright then! Shadow, Knuckles, let's go!" The three came at Miky all at once from different sides. Knuckles rushed up from behind and put her in a choke-hold.

"AH! Knuckles I can't breathe!" shouted Miky in pain

"Quit your panicking! Did you already forget what I taught you?!" barked Knuckles as he kept a firm but slightly loose grip.

Sonic poised himself in front of Miky, "Just be careful Knuckles! Hit me with your best shot!"

The egg-shaped scientist replied, "All of your puny efforts are futile!" With that Miky's legs lashed out in a strong kick but Sonic kicked out at the same time, blocking the attack.

"You should speak for yourself Eggman! RGH!" Sonic threw up his other leg, sandwiching Miky's, and as he fell, twisted and brought Miky down with him leaving both of their legs tangled in the others. "I got her legs pinned! Shadow get her arms!"

After a slight struggle, Shadow managed to grab Miky's arms and wrap them around her like a straightjacket, "Sorry Miky, it's for your own good though. Tails now's your chance!" Tails ran over at once and began examining the shackles.

Eggman wasn't done yet though, "ARRGH! I will not let you win! SWITCHING TO SUPER STRENGTH MODE!" Eggman hit a button and suddenly Miky's involuntary struggles went from barely noticeable to almost impossible to contain.

* * *

"OW! AH! Guys, you're hurting me!" shouted Miky helplessly as her body continued to fight without her consent.

Sonic was utilizing all of his strength to keep Miky's legs pinned, "Hurry up Tails! I can't hold down her legs much longer!"

Tails let out a gasp and nervously said, "Um guys? We need a Plan B!"

"Why, what happened to Plan A?" grunted Knuckles as he tried to keep a strong grip on Miky without choking her.

"These shackles have no lock! They're welded on!"

Shadow was also having a hard time with keeping Miky's arms restrained without breaking them snapped, "There must some way! Can we break them off?"

"This stuff is steeltanium! You can't just break steeltanium! So unless one of you happen to have a welding torch, these things aren't coming off!"

"I'm losing my grip!" warned Sonic as Miky's legs began to thrash about. With a yank they were free, "CRAP! I don't have her legs any-UGH!" Sonic was shoved away with a hard kick to the gut.

"Shadow look out!" yelled Miky. But it was too late. Miky's legs curled like she was going to flip onto her feet but instead wrapped around Shadow and threw him off. With her arms being free, Miky grabbed Knuckles and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him down.

"Get him whiles he's down!" ordered Eggman. At the command, Miky's arms and legs began to kick and punch Knuckles who did his best to block but his defenses were quickly broken through.

As Knuckles tried to at least get away from the beating he said, "Dang it Miky can't you try and fight it!?"

"I've been trying this whole time but I can't!" Miky replied, tears beginning to bubble in her eyes.

Eggman threw back his head and laughed, "HO HO HO HO! You can't fight nerve impulses fools! MUHAHAHA! While this highly entertaining, I've got a score to settle! Now, go after Sonic!" Miky dashed forward and leaped up in a roundhouse kick which Sonic rolled under.

* * *

As Miky continued her attack, Sonic dodging her at every turn, Shadow turned to Tails, "Eggman said that the thing controlling Miky were motor neuron overrides right?"

The two-tailed fox nodded, "Yes, it takes the impulses the brain sends to the muscles that are responsible for movement and redirects them."

Shadow thought for a moment before continuing, "If the impulses ceased, than there would be nothing to redirect, correct?"

"Well yes but the only way to stop the impulses is if Miky is unconscious."

Shadow sighed and his face became grave, "This pains me to say it but if we're going to stop this, we need to knock Miky unconscious."

Tails gasped, "But, Shadow-"

"If we don't do this, some one's going to get killed!"

"You're right. There's no other way. But if we're going to do something, we'd better do it now!"

Knuckles had slightly recovered from the pummeling he took and limped over, "I hope you two have a plan. I trained her to hit her hardest and made sure that she could hit as hard as any of us. If she gets ahold of one of us, it won't be pretty."

Shadow replied, "We do have a plan. We have to knock Miky unconscious so that Eggman can't control her."

"What!? Are you sure?"

Tails broke in, "Yes, it's the only option left. There's nothing else to be done."

Knuckles looked back at Shadow with suspicion as the black hedgehog said, "Believe me, I hate this plan. If there was any other route, I'd be taking it but we're out of options and we're quickly running out of time."

After a moment of thought, Knuckles nodded, "Alright. If we rush her again, it shouldn't be a problem. Tails, stay here, this is gonna be rough." Knuckles and Shadow started to run forward but were stopped by a line of machine gun fire.

"Not so fast!" shouted Eggman, his hand still on the trigger, "I've waited too long for my revenge and no one is going to stop me this time!" With that he fired another row of bullets, making Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles jump back further.

* * *

Sonic screeched to a halt at the sound of the firing, "Guys are you al-AAH!" Sonic stumbled backwards as Miky's fist connected with his jaw. He caught his balance in time for a roundhouse kick to send him sprawling onto the ground.

"Sonic!" cried Miky in horror.

"I'm o-GAH!" Miky's knee buried itself in Sonic's gut as he just begun to stand. He lay on the ground winded as Miky stood over him.

"Yes, yes, YES! After all these years, after so much humiliation, revenge shall be mine at last! Now, CRUSH HIM!" commanded Eggman as he nearly jumped out of the cockpit of his mech.

"No! I won't do it! No!" yelled Miky, tears running down her cheeks as her foot raised against her will.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice! Your actions are MINE to command!" Eggman pressed a button on his dashboard and Miky's foot began to plunge down towards Sonic's head.

"NOO!" screamed Miky as she tried to use her telekinesis to stop herself. The shackles sparked as they reflected the energy back at her but, Miky's foot had stopped its decent.

Everyone stood in shock as Eggman banged his fist on the dash, "What in blazes-!? Why did it stop?! Grrr! Aha, back online!" Once more, Miky's foot rushed toward smashing Sonic's head.

Tails suddenly shouted, "Miky, use your telekinesis again!" Without hesitation she did so, gritting her teeth against the pain. Sure enough, her foot stopped in its tracks. Sonic took advantage of the opportunity and rolled to safety. "That's it!" Tails exclaimed. "The shackles can't reflect Miky's telekinesis and control her movements at the same time! It shorts it out for a bit!"

Shadow added, "If we combine that with our plan, we can stop this!"

"What plan?" asked Miky, frozen in place.

"We… have to knock you unconscious…" replied Shadow as he looked away uneasily.

Shock was the first thing that leapt to Miky's face but it quickly faded to determination, "Do it."

"No way! Not gonna happen!" objected Sonic, "Tails, we don't have to do this right?"

The little fox shook his head, "There's no other option Sonic. This is our last resort."

"I don't know what you little pests are planning but whatever it is, it won't work! Get them my puppet!" yelled Eggman, having fixed the controls once more. Miky dashed forward at Knuckles.

* * *

As her fist pulled back for a punch, Miky pushed up a chunk of her energy and the shackles sparked, "OOW!" She froze in place in front of Knuckles who pulled back for his own fist for a punch.

His fist shot forward and Miky cringed, bracing for blow, "Sorry Miky!" His fist connected and sent Miky flying. She hit the ground and bounced once before getting up again. Stars were swimming in Miky's watery vision and if her movements were her own, she would have been stumbling to and fro. Her head cleared just enough for her too realize that her body was charging Sonic.

She could dully hear him shouting, "I don't care! I'm not going through with this!" She offered up her energy and the shackles took it and gave it right back. Miky froze again; her foot, in the middle of a kick, stopped a hair from Sonic's chest.

Her head was still screwed up from Knuckles' punch but Miky managed to stutter, "S-S-S-Sonic you g-g-gotta do this. Pl-please."

Sonic shook his head, "No. I can't. It's not right."

"Please! I c-can't do this my-my…" Miky trailed off as an idea drifted into her foggy mind, "Myself… Stand back, I got an idea!" Sonic flipped backwards as Miky unfroze. Before her body could turn around and attack again, Miky put forth a huge surge of telekinetic energy.

Sparks flew from the shackles as Eggman shouted inside his mech, "W-WHAT?! The shackle controls are going haywire!" There was a puff of sparks from another area on the dashboard. "NO! I just lost the controls for my mech!"

Tails jumped into the air spinning his namesakes, "Miky, keep doing that! Come on Knuckles, let's trash Eggman!"

The two took off and left Sonic and Shadow with Miky who panted, "You got it Tails! RRAAHHH!" She pushed more of her energy into the shackles and shoved it back into her times five. She was shaking uncontrollably and gasping for breath as sights and sounds became distorted. Eggman was trying in vain to regain control of Miky and his mech as Knuckles tore off chunks of its armor allowing Tails to dive in and pull out essential wires and parts.

* * *

After another surge, Miky could feel her muscles loosening and instead being stuck in a stiff position, her legs buckled and she feel to her knees. Sonic and Shadow rushed to her side. Miky managed to mumble, "Are Tails and Knuckles done?"

Shadow put a hand behind her head which was rolling on her shoulders, "Never mind that, you did your part. Lean on me; we're getting out of this hellhole."

Miky pulled away and fell onto her side, struggling to stay awake, "No, I still got a little bit left in me. I have enough for one more."

"Stop Miky, you've done enough." insisted Sonic as he helped her into a reclined sitting position. "Stop fighting it, let yourself pass out. You more than earned the rest."

Tails flew over to them, covered in oil and gear grease panting, "Sonic, we got Eggman on the ropes; we need your help finishing him off." He looked down at Miky who had at last, slipped into unconsciousness, "Shadow, you can take Miky back to my house if you want. When we finish here, I'll get those shackles off her."

Shadow carefully picked Miky up, "Thank you Tails, we'll be waiting for you. CHAOS CONTROL!" With that, the two were gone in a brilliant flash of light.

Sonic turned to Tails, "Alright buddy. Let's take out the trash."

* * *

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles stood in front of Eggman's crumbling mech. The scientist was beating his fists against the dashboard in frustration as he attempted to eject from the mech, "NO! It's stuck! I can't believe I lost! AGAIN! So close! So damn CLOSE!"

"But no cigar Eggman. Here, let us give you a hand with that!" quipped Sonic, smirking in his trademark manner.

"Let's go with a classic move!" suggested Tails with a wink.

Knuckles grabbed Tails' ankles, who in turn grabbed Sonic's and began to spin them around, "Way ahead of you!" With a heave, Knuckles threw Tails and Sonic towards Eggman.

"No, no! Not that horrid move! NO!" shrieked Eggman as he dove under the control panel. Sonic curled into a ball as Tail kicked him as hard as he could.

The blue hedgehog flew forward faster than a homing attack, blasting through the mech and leaving it a heap of burning metal with a shout of, "ROCKETS AWAY!"

Eggman's hovercraft was thrown from the mech, through the ceiling, and off into the distance with him yelling all the while, "CUUUURRRRSSSEEE YYYOOOOOUUU SSOOONIIICCCCCCC!"

Sonic landed lightly on his feet, "That never gets old."

Knuckles scoffed and punched Sonic lightly on the arm and joked, "How come you get all the cursing? We deserve to be recognized for our work too."

"We may help out, but we don't drive him as crazy." laughed Tails. "Now that's finally over with, let's get back to my house. Shadow and Miky are waiting for us."

* * *

**Author's Note: Whoop! Another chapter done! I hope you like this actiony chapter. I didn't want Miky to be a helpless damsel but I didn't want her to be the hero either. Eggman sure is getting diabolical! As for a person or two that thought that Shadow and Sonic's argument was over too soon, too easily, don't worry. I got ya covered, always did ;). Anyways, I hope you liked it. Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy. :)**


	19. Settling Differences

**Chapter 19**

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles arrived back at Tails' house to find Shadow waiting for them. Tails asked, "How is she?"

Shadow gestured to the living room couch where Miky was lying, "She's still out."

"Ok, maybe it's for the better. I wouldn't want her squirming about when I try and remove the shackles. Shadow, could you move her into the lab please?" With a nod, Shadow picked up Miky and followed Tails, Sonic and Knuckles in tow. "Just set her right here on this table." Tails pulled out his blowtorch and lit it, "You guys can go hang out in the living room if you want. This will take a few." Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles went back to living room. Sonic and Knuckles plopped down on the couch while Shadow remained standing.

* * *

"Man, Eggman sure isn't making it easy anymore. He pushed us to our limits!" pointed out Knuckles as he examined the various bruises and injuries on his arms and body.

"He certainly pushed Miky past hers." muttered Sonic as he gently massaged his slightly swollen jaw.

"That's another thing. Why did Eggman go after Miky?" asked Knuckles.

"He was obviously trying to hurt you." replied Shadow, "He knows that all of you have strong attachments to each other and was exploiting that."

Sonic shook his head, "Well yeah, but why her? Eggman could have snatched Tails, or Amy, or any other of our friends."

"Miky's the weakest of all of you so she quickly became his target."

Here Knuckles interjected, "Whoa, whoa, Miky? The weakest? That's a load of crap; I trained her to be just as strong as any of us. So guess again, Sherlock."

Shadow turned to Knuckles and glared, "I'm not 'guessing' anything. It's simple logic. She may be physically strong, but she is weak in experience."

"Experience comes with time Shadow." reminded Sonic, "Surely you know that? Miky's only been with us for a little under four months."

"Perhaps she shouldn't be with you at all." Shadow said bluntly.

Sonic frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"When you have enemies gunning for you and you bring in others, they tend to get caught in the crossfire. You and Eggman have been going at it for years; you may never get tired of winning, but I bet he gets tired of losing. That makes him desperate and dangerous."

Sonic replied, "We are well aware that Eggman is stepping it up. That's why we trained Miky, so that she would be able to hold her own."

"She would have been better off if you hadn't trained her in the first place! It's because you trained her and made her a part of your little team that Eggman now sees her as another obstacle to his goals." accused Shadow.

"Are you trying to say what happened was my fault!?" shouted Sonic as he jumped from his seat.

"The way I see it, it _is_ your fault. Eggman is _your_ nemesis, not Miky's. You've dragged her into a fight that she has nothing to with!"

"We had to teach her how to fight so she would safe!"

Shadow scoffed "Safe? Oh yes, she's real safe! Further on that matter, you are a terrible teacher! What idiot puts a rookie with no combat experience whatsoever in a full-out real life situation?!"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Miky told me about the Egg-Lasher incident. Frankly that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard! She only knew evasion tactics and had her telekinesis, which I emphasize, she barely had control over. She could have easily been killed!" pointed out Shadow, becoming increasingly angry.

Sonic's temper was also starting to flare up, "But she _wasn't!_ We would not have put her in that situation if we didn't think she could handle it. And she did! She handled it perfectly!"

"What if she hadn't? She's a rookie, rookies mess up. If she had botched it, who would have helped her? No one! It's a stroke of pure dumb luck that she survived! That's the problem I have you!"

"What, Shadow? What's the problem you have with me?" asked Sonic as he advanced on Shadow, looking him dead in the eyes.

Knuckles could see the tension that building between the two and decided he didn't want any part in it, "I'm going to get an ice pack for these bruises. Try not to kill each other?" With that Knuckles got up and went into the kitchen.

* * *

"Well Shadow? I'm waiting." goaded Sonic.

Shadow growled, "You're too reckless. You rush into things without thinking or a plan. You lead your team like your leading a trip to an amusement park. You never take anything seriously; it's all a game to you! It's a wonder you haven't gotten anyone or yourself killed!"

"What I do and how I do it is none of your dang business. You're not exactly a role model either. Everything you do, you do for yourself! You wouldn't help anyone unless there's something in it for you! Which leads me to my big problem with you!"

Shadow folded his arms, "HA! I've got to hear this!"

"Why exactly are you with Miky? What sort of agenda do you have this time?" questioned Sonic.

Shadow took a startled step back, "Are you serious!? Agenda?! The only reason I'm with Miky is because I care about her very much, I value her extremely positive personality, and I think that she is an amazing individual that I would like to get to know! That's why I'm with her! Why are you so set on keeping us apart?!"

"Because, I'm protecting my friend! It's one of my bad habits apparently but I do it all the same!"

Shadow jabbed his index finger at Sonic's chest, "I've had just about enough of you Sonic!"

"Do not touch me."

Ignoring him, Shadow did it again, "Mine and Miky's personal lives are none of your concern. You have no right to say that we shouldn't be together."

Through gritted teeth Sonic hissed, "Don't touch me!"

"I don't care what you say; I will stay with Miky no matter what! So keep your nose out of our business! Got it?" threatened Shadow with one last jab.

Sonic struggled to maintain control of his temper as he spoke in a low, menacingly even voice, "Shadow, either you need to leave right now, or we need to step outside because I'm _this_ close to kicking you in the face."

Shadow's iconic sneer came to his face, "Oh I dare you to! I will take you down in the most painful way I know how."

Sonic's eyes flashed in anger and challenge, "Well than what you waiting for?!"

At that moment, Knuckles came back into the living room with his ice pack and saw what was happening, "Whoa, whoa, if you two are gonna fight, take it outside."

"If this FAKER starts something, I don't care where we are, I'm going to darn well finish it!" shouted Shadow.

Sonic shouted back, "We'll see about that!"

Knuckles stepped between them, "I'm only going to say this once more. Take it outside, or shut the heck up."

Shadow snapped, "Don't start with me Knuckles! I'm losing my patience with all of you! You think just because you go around saving the world you can judge others, well you can't!"

Knuckles put up his hands, "Hey, hey, hey! I don't want any part of your little squabble. If you need to fight this out, so be it. But leave me out of it!"

"Then stay out of it!" yelled Shadow.

* * *

Just then, Tails came into the living room, supporting a woozy Miky. Seeing the commotion, Tails cried out, "What's going here?!"

Knuckles answered first, "Don't look at me, it's these two who are at each other's throats."

A look of disbelief came to Miky's face as she asked, "Why are you two fighting? What could you two possibly have to fight about?"

Sonic opened his mouth to reply but Shadow cut him off, "About you and about us."

"What? Why would you be arguing about me and-and our relationship?" stammered Miky as she tried to make sense of the situation. "Wait. Sonic, you told me that Shadow wasn't a good fit for me. Did…" She turned to Sonic, anger entering her voice, "Did you start this? Are you still trying to babysit me? After I told you to knock it off?"

Sonic turned his back to her, "I didn't start anything." He glared at Shadow, "You should get pissed at him for babysitting you too."

Miky looked to Shadow, "What is he talking about?"

"I'm talking about how he thinks that you shouldn't hang with us!"

"Shadow, is this true?"

Shadow replied without hesitation, "Yes. What happened today is Sonic's fault!"

Miky gasped, "How can you say that!?"

"Because, if these idiots hadn't trained you and made you a part of their team, Eggman would have never targeted you! They've brought you into a war that's not yours to fight!"

"If Eggman hadn't gone after me, it would have been someone else!"

"Then that's their problem!"

Miky began to fire a response but Sonic beat her to the punch, giving Shadow a shove as well, "You jerk!" Shadow immediately retaliated with a punch but the blue blur dodged it and kicked him square in the face, breaking his nose.

* * *

"STOP! What are you doing?!" cried Miky as she ran between them.

Shadow tried to push past her but she stood firm, "Get out of my way Miky! This faker needs to be taught a lesson!"

"NO! STOP!"

"Grrr… CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow Chaos Controlled behind Sonic and socked him right in his swollen jaw.

"AH! You wanna play dirty? Fine!" Sonic took off, running so fast it was almost impossible to see him. He dashed in front of Shadow, to the side of him, and behind him till he had Shadow turning in circles trying to see and attack him. Sonic made a last pass in front of Shadow slow enough for Shadow to try lashing out a punch. With a slide and hard turn, Sonic was behind Shadow. Before the black hedgehog could react, Sonic kicked him hard in the back and sent him out the window with an implosion of glass flying everywhere.

Tails grabbed Sonic's arm as the speed demon was going to jump out the broken window, "Sonic stop this! This is ridiculous; you two are acting like children!"

"I think they need to fight out it Tails. If they settle this, we won't have to hear them won't argue anymore." argued Knuckles.

"No! Fighting is not the answer! Please Sonic, we can solve this another way." pleaded Miky.

Sonic pulled his arm from Tails grip and said, "I'm sorry but I'm not going to let him come in here and start saying stuff like that. He was picking a fight from the beginning and now he's got one." Sonic jumped through the broken window to find Shadow getting to his feet.

"I'll admit this Sonic; you've got a mean kick." Shadow remarked as three Chaos Spears appeared in both of his hands.

"I'm just getting warmed up! We'll see what you have to say when I'm through with you!" said Sonic with his trademark grin.

Tails, Knuckles and Miky were watching from the busted out window as Miky asked Tails, "How can we stop this? There has to be way!"

Tails shook his head and sighed, "When those two start, they keep going till one of them drops. You can interfere all you want, but they still end up like this. There's just no reasoning with them."

"But there has to be a way to reason with them, a way to make them stop and just talk this out. They're not all that different!" Miky gasped as a thought came to her. She remembered when she had gone with Shadow to hack Eggman's computers he was angry that she had not followed the plan. He had said he reason for his anger was that he didn't want her to get hurt. Miky also remembered that when Tails suggested that Miky start coming with them in real fights with Eggman to get experience, Sonic had said the same exact thing. "I know how to end this!" Miky cried as she leaped out the window.

* * *

"I'm going to blast that smirk right off your smug little face!" Shadow hurled his Chaos Spears. Miky ran directly in their path and used her telekinesis to stop them dead in their tracks. "Miky!? What are you doing!?"

Miky flung the Chaos Spears into a nearby tree trunk and shouted, "I'm ending this! You two have no reason to be fighting! You both want the same thing!"

Sonic tapped his foot irritably, "I want nothing this faker wants!"

"Same here!" agreed Shadow folding his arms.

"But don't you see? You do! Both of you are trying to stop me from being hurt!" Surprise came to both hedgehogs' faces. "You both are trying to accomplish the same goal. It's nice to know that both of you care that much, but by fighting, it becomes a moot point."

"What do you mean?" asked Shadow.

Miky sighed miserably and looked at both of them, "Because by fighting… you're hurting me. I can't stand watching you to fight, and the fact that it's over me makes it worse!" Tears were streaming from Miky's eyes as she continued, "Please just stop fighting. I don't care if you two want babysit me anymore, just stop fighting."

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, guilt-ridden. They approached each other calmly as Shadow said quietly, "My actions were out of line. I-I'm sorry. I got caught up in protecting someone I care about."

Sonic nodded and admitted sheepishly, "Same here. But I think what we both failed to realize, is that Miky isn't a helpless little damsel anymore. She's one of us and she can take care of herself. And…" Sonic looked at Miky than back at Shadow, "She can make her own choices too. So, if Miky trusts you, so do I." Sonic held his out hand and Shadow shook it.

Miky hugged them both happily as Tails said to Knuckles, "Wow. Sonic and Shadow burying the hatchet? I thought would never see the day. Although I guess it had to happen sometime, they couldn't keep hating each other for ever."

Knuckles scoffed, "Swayed by a girl's tears. Utter ridiculousness. If you ask me, this is just a temporary cease fire. One day they'll remember their fight and start slugging each other again."

"Knuckles, you truly are old fashioned. Oh, speaking of remembering things. Hey Miky!"

Miky ran over, "Yeah Tails?"

"Now that we have a moment, the computer finished restoring some the journal. Want to check it out?"

"Do you even have to ask!? Let's go! Sonic, Shadow come on!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Done at last! Well, Sonic and Shadow finally had that superheated argument and even ending up brawling a little! Well in any case, I hope the way Miky stopped the fighting and got them to make amends wasn't too… bleck for lack of a better word. But, next chapter there will be no tears, only some new dirt on Miky's past! Please read, review, and enjoy. :)  
**


	20. More Questions, Few Answers

**Chapter 20**

Miky was bouncing all over the place as she, Tails, Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow re-entered the lab to see what the computer had deciphered from the old journal. "Ok, let's get started." began Tails as he sat down at his super computer. After hitting a few keys, he brought up an image of a restored page on the screen. "This is the page after the last readable entry. Some parts were simply impossible to recover but this is the best we'll get."

Miky walked closer to the screen, "There's two entries on this page. The first says, 'Day 195. I've been here for about six and half months. I've documented most if not all of the plants and wildlife in the area I landed in. The tremors I mentioned earlier have ceased. I believe it is safe to return to my previous base. This planet is so amazing; it's like nothing I've ever dreamed of. This is the greatest adventure of my life and I couldn't be enjoying myself more. I never thought I would ever smell fresh air or know what grass feels like. Tomorrow I'm going to venture further out.'"

Sonic sat backwards in a chair, his chin resting on the back, "Huh. Sounds like you sure were excited to be here."

"So your home planet didn't have fresh air or grass?" wondered Knuckles scratching his head, "No wonder you came here."

Confused Shadow asked, "I'm sorry but where is this from?"

"Oh I must not have told you! Before we fought the Egg-Lasher, we found this cave that I had lived in and buried in the fire pit was the white Chaos Emerald and this journal." explained Miky as she reread the entry.

"How do you know it's yours?"

"Because when we were there, I remembered living and sleeping there. And I remembered burying the Chaos Emerald."

Sonic, who had read ahead, pointed to the next chunk of text, "Check out the second entry."

* * *

Once again Miky read aloud, "'Day 205. I've returned from my venture away from my landing site. What I encountered boggles the mind! Beyond the forest was huge stretches of plains with giant beasts grazing peacefully in herds. That must be what caused the tremors. It was this massive herd migrating to the plains! I witnessed a predator, an ugly thing with giant fangs and claws, take down one of these beasts with a single bite to the neck. It was amazing to see. After the predator left, I got closer to the herd and followed them a bit. They had a few babies with them as well. I can't wait to see what else is outside the forest.' Well… that was interesting…"

Tails' namesakes waved up and down in deep thought, "Ok, things just got weird. There are no grazing animals on this continent, or anywhere else on Mobius for that matter. Heck, there hasn't been for thousands of years, back when Mobians began evolving."

Knuckles asked, "So that mean?"

"It means something is fishy here." answered Tails as he sat down at his computer and re-read the past entries, "These are all over the place."

Shadow suggested, "Perhaps the journal is describing another planet?"

Miky immediately shook her head and protested, "No, I'm sure this talking about Mobius! It has to be! It's got pictures of plants and animals from Mobius in it. If only we knew when it was written!"

Tails whirled around in his chair, "That's it! Maybe that can shed some light on things!" He swiveled back around and said, "Computer! Give me an age analysis on the journal, the writing in it, and the damage to it."

"Processing…." replied the machine.

"What's knowing the age going to do?" Sonic asked as the computer went about its work.

"The age of the writing can pinpoint when Miky came to Mobius. The damage just might give us an idea of when Miky lost her memory."

Shadow scoffed, "No offense Tails, but I think that's a little far-fetched. Damage like that is done steadily over time."

"Ah, in most cases yes. But when Miky gave it to me, I gave it a flip through and I noticed at the very back, the cover is almost completely burned off, including, from what I can tell, about 5 or so pages. 10 pages after that are singed and burned round the edges. And the next 5 after that are almost ruined by soot and ash."

"But that doesn't explain the faded writing throughout the rest of the journal."

"Actually it explains that perfectly: Baked Ink. The heat from whatever fire almost destroyed this journal, baked some of the ink off the pages. Had it been in the fire longer, even more would be lost, heck, there would be nothing left!"

"Age analysis complete." announced the computer.

* * *

"Good. What are the results?"

"The age of the journal is approximately 35 years old. The oldest writing is approximately 3 years and 6 months old and the newest is under 6 months old. The heat damage is under 6 months old." Every gasped at the last two pieces of information, shocked that the latest writing and damage was so recent.

Tails stammered, "C-c-c-computer, are you sure? Can you give us a more accurate analysis of the newest writing?"

"I'm sorry Tails but any entries that might have been in the back of the journal are required to do so. But the last pages are destroyed. I am merely estimating from what I have."

Miky was bouncing up and down excitedly, "Oh my gosh! Under 6 months?! That's unbelievable!"

Sonic added, "That means you must have lost your memory somewhere in that time!"

Knuckles rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, this certainly adds a new layer of mystery."

"Tails, how long is it before you can restore more of the journal?" inquired Shadow.

The fox paused for a minute as he considered the question and answered, "Well, really it depends on the amount of damage and how extensive it is. It could take weeks to months to make the next page readable."

"I see."

"Awww! Will it really take that long?" whined Miky, "I'm burning with curiosity! I never thought that my past would be this exciting! Coming here from another planet, exploring, and discovering! I want to know what happened next!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down Miky. The computer will do what it does best but it will take time. Don't worry, we'll find out." laughed Tails.

Sonic chuckled as well, "We're just going to have to keep you occupied till then! Good things come to those who wait!"

Miky gave the blue blur a light shove, "Oh puhleeessee! The last thing you have is patience!"

"Alas, as a hero, it is the only virtue I don't have."

Knuckles scoffed, "'The only virtue'? Don't even get me started!"

"You're no saint yourself with that temper." pointed out Shadow.

Miky laughed as the guys poked fun at each other. After everything that had happened that day, it filled her with such joy to see all of the people she cared about getting along. She figured that as long as she had her friends and Shadow, waiting on the journal wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello FanFictioners! At last some more info on Miky's past! Shame it doesn't tell us more about her, but as Tails said, all in good time. I wouldn't want to spoil things and fast forward the plot. ;) Another crazy day over and new one to begin tomorrow! Please read, review, and enjoy. **

**P.S. I have a poll up on my profile asking what FanFiction should I post along with this story. Info on each option will be towards the bottom of my profile. Thank you in advance for voting.**


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